Court: Vaccine Doesn't Cause Autism

(AP)  The vaccine additive thimerosal is not to blame for autism, a special federal court ruled Friday in a long-running battle by parents convinced there is a connection.

While expressing sympathy for the parents involved in the emotionally charged cases, the court concluded they had failed to show a connection between the mercury-containing preservative and autism.

"Such families must cope every day with tremendous challenges in caring for their autistic children, and all are deserving of sympathy and admiration," special master George Hastings Jr., wrote.

But, he added, Congress designed the victim compensation program only for families whose injuries or deaths can be shown to be linked to a vaccine and that has not been done in this case.

The ruling came in the so-called vaccine court, a special branch of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims established to handle claims of injury from vaccines. It can be appealed in federal court.

Friday's decision that autism is not caused by thimerosal alone follows a parallel ruling in 2009 that autism is not caused by the combination of vaccines with thimerosal and other vaccines.

The new ruling was welcomed by Dr. Paul Offit of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, who said the autism theory had "already had its day in science court and failed to hold up."

But the controversy has cast a pall over vaccines, causing some parents to avoid them, he noted, "it's very hard to unscare people after you have scared them."

1 in 4 Parents Buy Autism-Vaccine Link

On the other side of the issue, a group backing the parents' theory charged that the vaccine court was more interested in government policy than protecting children.

"The deck is stacked against families in vaccine court. Government attorneys defend a government program, using government-funded science, before government judges," Rebecca Estepp, of the Coalition for Vaccine Safety said in a statement.

Meanwhile, in reaction to the concerns of parents, thimerosal has been removed from most vaccines in the United States.

In Friday's action the court ruled in three different cases, each concluding that the preservative has no connection to autism.

The trio of rulings can offer reassurance to parents scared about vaccinating their babies because of a small but vocal anti-vaccine movement. Some vaccine-preventable diseases, including measles, are on the rise.

The U.S. Court of Claims is different from many other courts: The families involved didn't have to prove the inoculations definitely caused the complex neurological disorder, just that they probably did.

More than 5,500 claims have been filed by families seeking compensation through the government's Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, and the rulings dealt with test cases to settle which if any claims had merit.

Autism is best known for impairing a child's ability to communicate and interact. Recent data suggest a 10-fold increase in autism rates over the past decade, although it's unclear how much of the surge reflects better diagnosis.

Worry about a vaccine link first arose in 1998 when a British physician, Dr. Andrew Wakefield, published a medical journal article linking a particular type of autism and bowel disease to the measles vaccine. The study was later discredited.

[55KOsandAOK]

Let's not forget the big things.

US tax payers paid $300,000,000.00 to have a vaccine database used secretly in 1999 to determine that Thimerosal was causing neurological problems placed into the hands of a private party thus avoiding freedom of information act access.

The Homeland Security Act of 2003 had a liability immunity clause slapped onto the tail-end of it. The offensive language provided Thimerosal lawsuit liability immunity for Eli Lilly.

This latest pandemic scare provided a cover to directly target America's pregnant women, infants, and toddlers with Thimerosal-laced Influenza shots. This injection campaign was carried out despite the fact that CBS News among others reported that state testing results conclusively indicated there was very little influenza among cases suspected to be Swine Flu. The report included information that the U.S. CDC called off state testing requirements through a third party.

[wheelswheels0054]

We are witnessing the greatest cover up of all time. The massive cash reserves of Big Pharma have managed to buy this data. There is simply no question that one of the most powerful nerotoxins of all time, mercury in vaccines, given to babies has caused the Autism epidemic.
We are living proof.
These studies are funded by people with incestuous ties to the industry.
Paul Offit himself never discloses that he owns a vaccine patent and profits millions of dollars from vaccines. Want to put an end to the controversy?

It's quite simple:
A vaccinated VS. unvaccinated study. PERIOD. But, you will never see this as the results will sink Big Pharma as we know it today.

[applecores]

This is a must watch

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3XlJB7J5-o

There has been no double blind tests done with vaccines, so they can hide behind the lies that mercury doesnt cause problems, or that multiple injections dont do anything. If there is no testing done, then they are innocent until proven guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt.

But the fear mongering media controlled news can force people to take vaccines in order to remain employed, or use CO2, our exhaled breath necessary for trees to grow, charging you a carbon based tax when we are 18% carbon as humans, taxing you and limiting you, treating the people as guilty until proven innocent with the whole scientology of the clergy of the IPCC's deleted, fudged and scammed data on the Global warming scams.

[SCRankin]

Anybody notice they kept showing that bottle with the skull and crossbones and the words "very toxic" on it? If I remember that is supposed to mean poison, right? So Allison, let me get this straight....injecting poison into a six pound newborn is not going to cause any problems at all. Then repeat it every few months through their childhood with a dose of mercury that is recommended for a 225 pound man. No problem, right?

[balletmommy]

I'd allow that they used that bottle with the scary stuff on it because CBS/Sharyl Atkisson editorial lean is towards believing that vaccines can cause autism, but that's just my opinion, I don't have any evidence.

[PR_in_Alabama]

Some Vaccines are causing un-reparable damage to the youngsters. It could be the coctail of vaccines, maybe too strong for the little one to handle.

[Clark Nova]

FWIW, I'm extremely allergic to thimerosal. Years ago when I first got contact lenses (almost all contact cleaning supplies were preserved with thimerosal back then) it damn near blinded me. I can still raise a welt just by dripping any medication preserved with thimerosal on my skin. No other preservative does this to me.

I nearly suffocated once after a dentist used lidocaine preserved with thimerosal on me.

I can only imagine what would happen to me or anyone else with this allergenic sensitivity if they were to be injected with it (something I have VERY carefully avoided.

[Stevenapoli7]

How do you know that no other preservative does this to you? Have you tired every single one ever made?

[KatinkaConnors]

"Danish Scientist Absconds with $2 million, Poul Thorsen "Proved" Vaccines Don't Cause Autism"
www.ageofautism.com

What an upstanding citizen! How trustworthy his research must be!

I work with autistic children. I have had SO MANY parents tell the same story, over and over. One mom in particular, who described how her son, after his MMR vaccination, went into "shock" IMMEDIATELY after a vaccination. Not later that same day, not the next week. He went to the doctor, and left a different child THAT DAY. Oh. Must be a coincidence. Or maybe they are just looking for someone to blame (even though they are not ever planning on pursuing this...too busy taking care of their son)

A vaccination is a massive, unnatural assault on the immune system and nervous system. Is thimerosal the only problem with the dozens and dozens vaccinations our children are subjected to from birth? Hardly.

People are choosing to ask tough questions. We are not a "fringe" group. We are educated and informed, and my twenty month old son will remain unvaccinated. If you have a problem with that, I say that is your problem. I will trust my common sense and hundreds of hours of research, and you can trust upstanding citizens like Poul Thorsen.

[SusanStoHelit]

Yes, it's just a coincidence. Autism strikes at the same age as children are vaccinated. Another doctor tells a story of a child in to be vaccinated, who suddenly has a seizure. No history, no family history of seizures, and suddenly, when in for a vaccine, she has one! But - whaddya know - the seizure happens right before the vaccine is to be given. Had the vaccine been given 10 minutes earlier, nothing in this world would have convinced the parent it wasn't due to the vaccine - and they would have been just as wrong as your parents are. Or there's the poor girl who dropped dead suddenly, a teenager, after getting the Guardasil vaccine. They suspend the shots, the autopsy results come in - the poor girl had an ENOURMOUS tumor in her chest, and it killed her. There is such a thing as coincidence, and that is why anecdotal evidence is worthless. Statistics tell the tale - were there any link, even a minor one, it'd show clearly and easily in a higher rate of autism among the vaccinated. This is not difficult science, it's quite easy to find.

Here's my bit of anecdotal evidence - a parent has a child - he's vaccinated, and then he shows signs of being autistic - definitely is moderately autistic. The parents, not sure what happened, but not willing to take any risks, do not allow ANY vaccination of the next child. He turns out to be SEVERELY autistic. By that bit of anecdotal evidence, you'd have to say that vaccines prevent or minimize autism.

The data is in. Were there the slightest, most MINOR link, it'd show up in all the studies. Instead - it's nowhere to be found. Unvaccinated children get autism precisely the same as vaccinated children, all around the world.

[MalloryDavis]

But what about when he goes to school? You can't even have a child in public schools without their shot records up to date.

This whole thing is abhorrent.

[SusanStoHelit]

The science has been in, clear and unequivocal, for a very long time. Vaccines do not, and never have caused autism - nor do they make it more likely, nor do they make it less likely, nor do they cause it to show up earlier, later, more severe, less severe - there have been so many studies that quite simply show this to be what it always was - a lie by one researcher who got well paid by trial lawyers to make it up.

Just go READ! Study after study, of millions of children over decades - and absolutely ZERO difference between unvaccinated children and vaccinated ones.

[porcine_aviator]

While I agree that, on balance, vaccines solve more problems than they solve, don't be so sure that they are safe.

Messing with the immune system always carries with it some danger. And to believe that injecting an organomercury compound won't cause at least some neurological harm is nonsense. There is no such thing an a non-toxic form of organomercury.

[MalloryDavis]

You must be one who makes money off the system and\or the government who force their will on the lower echelon. FTG!

[P0ST1ING_AWAY]

by yizumar March 13, 2010 4:03 AM EST
Big Pharma got the court in their pockets. The court system is full of crap and they're not fooling us. My step kids has been effected by A.D.D. and so has my daughter who is adopted and discovered later when she found me that she has A.D.D...............................................
==============================================================
B. S.
A. D. D. frequently is equivalent to a LACK OF DISCIPLINE.
Stop making excuses and get you own house in order.

[P0ST1ING_AWAY]

by the0racle March 13, 2010 7:24 AM EST
don't forget the big, scary, we're all gonna die Swine Flu (non) epidemic! Brought to you by...(you guessed it) Big Pharma. Then driven home to the world daily in the news.( i saw it on TV so it MUST be true) Purpose? to sell DOUBLE the amount of vaccines. Somebody should go to jail.
==================================================================
If being stupid were a crime .... YOU WOULD BE IN JAIL.
Tell all of the people in the Dallas area whose children became
ill that this was just their imagination.

[P0ST1ING_AWAY]

by deohgee March 13, 2010 7:16 AM EST
Who would be STUPID enough to listen to a decision by the court when it comes to your own kids?
===============================================================
Who would be STUPID enough to ignore the advice of the
medical community ?

Apparently .... Y-O-U.

The anti-vaccine crowd falls into one of two groups .......
(1) We believe SOMETHING caused autism and vaccines are as good an
excuse as anything
(2) We don't know what the deal is but we want SOMEBODY to pay.

Which group are YOU in, Sparky ?