John McCain Enters the Autism Wars

I am originally from somalia and children born in minnesota to somali parents are being diagnosed with autism at a higher rate than the rest of the population. some of the parents including myself state that our children were fine before the mmr shot, but other parents in our community are saying that their child had the symptoms of autism before the mmr shot.

Is it possible for the medical community to do a specific study in our community and really find out the real cause of this disorder which will lead us to the cure and prevention. I think our light at the end of the tunnel is the cure for our kids. Right??

Hi Rhonda,

The reason McCain said that Sarah Palin understands autism is that her sister's 13 year-old son has autism.

Also, since you, just like me, are very concerned about the safety of vaccines, I think it's important to let you know that Obama has stated on more than one occasion that he does NOT support selective vaccination, and when asked about the issue of Vaccine Choice on an A-Champ survey, he completely dodged the question by talking about "health screenings".

On the other hand, here's McCain's stance:
1) Vaccine safety is a concern. He "will work with all agencies to take all necessary steps in an expedient manner to ensure safe vaccines for every American family." This will include continuing work to reduce and eliminate thimerosal (containing the known neurotoxin mercury) from vaccines.
2) Parental choice is paramount. "The key to health care reform is to restore control to the patients themselves."

Also, look at the comparison of campaign contributions:
"Obama $181,000 in Big Pharma donations through Jan. 31, compared with Clinton's $174,000. As for McCain, his total was only $44,000."

Who do you think is more likely to be on our side?

Also, Obama has never said anything about the safety of vaccines, but read this about McCain:

"McCain, along with Joe Lieberman, has asked the Senate health committee to look into environmental causes, vaccine additives and biomed treatments. Obama is on that committee and has not picked up the torch to make it happen."

As for Sarah Palin,
"Barbara Angaiak, president of the state affiliate of the National Education Association... credited Ms. Palin for having backed a legislative proposal, which became law this year, that overhauled the state’s school funding system. That plan brought more money to the state’s many rural and remote school districts and raised spending for students with special needs. ("Alaska Legislators Overhaul Funding," April 30, 2008.)
****The measure raised per-pupil funding by $100, to $5,480, and brought the state’s total K-12 budget to $1.2 billion.***
“She understands many of the issues that are important to educators in Alaska," Ms. Angaiak said. "

And

"If you look at the 2007 budget ... the budget for the school year was $8,265,300 and this number included the Alaskan Challenged Youth Academy.
If you look at the 2008 budget ...(page 13)
the budget is $3,156,000, but the Alaskan Challenged Youth Academy is a seperate line item. It's budget is $5,709,000 for a grand total of $8,865,000.
This is a 6.25% increase, not a decrease!
If you look at the 2009 budget ...(page 13)
Again if you add the two numbers together you get a total of $9,214,900 and this year it is a 3.94% increase."

So I'm voting for McCain/Palin, (First and foremost because I want Vaccine Choice) and I sincerely hope you will too. If you want references to any of this info, I'd be happy to post all of them for you.

As for when thimerosal was removed... It was never totally removed.

The flu shot (which did and still does contain the full amount of thimerosal) was first recommended for pregnant women in 1997.

In 1999, congress decided that childhood vaccines should be made with little to no thimerosal, but the prenatal vaccine was STILL recommended and always has been since 1997.

Then in 2001 vaccines started being manufactured with the reduced amounts of thimerosal. However, existing vaccine stocks with the full amount of thimerosal were NOT recalled because this removal was considered to just be precautionary.

Based on the SV40 virus example below, the childhood vaccines that contained the full amount of thimerosal were probably still in circulation until at least 2003.

In 1961, the SV40 virus that was found in the polio vaccine was found to cause tumors in rodents. So they declared that future stocks should be free of the SV40 virus as a precautionary measure. "However existing stocks were remained in circulation until 1963." Now traces of this virus have been found in certain types of lymphoma. This information was on the CDC's website at this link: http://www2a.cdc.gov/nip/Redirects/Test1.asp?spath=http://www.cdc.gov/nip/vacsafe/concerns/Cancer/default.htm
But the page is no longer available. I had just accessed this page a week ago, and now it seems to be gone... You can find the link by googling "CDC polio vaccine SV40" but it won't display that page anymore.

So if the full-level thimerosal vaccines were still in circulation until 2003, and then in 2004 the full-thimerosal flu shot was added to the childhood vaccination schedule for children 6 months and older, there would have been a time period of only about 1 year where the childhood immunization schedule only included the "trace" amounts of thimerosal. And don't forget, that even during that one-year time period the full-thimerosal prenatal flu shot was STLL being recommended even though thimerosal was removed for children. Why was it still recommended for developing children (who are much more susceptible) when congress decided it wasn't safe for children to receive thimerosal?

Also, the CDC's thimerosal study found that "increased prenatal exposure" caused "poorer executive functioning" in males only. That fit's into the higher ratio of boys to girls with autism.

And another less frequently discussed problem is the aluminum. Aluminum levels were limited to 25 mcg in injectable medical solutions because the FDA, I'll say that again, the FDA found that aluminum was causing neurological delays in preemies (and dementia in kidney dialysis patients aka post dialysis encephalopathy) due to reduced renal function.

Now the 250 mcg hep B vaccine is given to newborns, INCLUDING PREEMIES, the day they are born. Other studies have found that "Low birth weight and preterm birth increase the risk of autism in infants by about twofold". Hep B is a STD, and the FDA already acknowledged that preemies have an increased risk of aluminum toxicity so shouldn't this 250 mcg vaccine NOT be given to preemies unless the baby's mother is Hep B positive???????

The CDC says that large amounts of aluminum have been found to cause neurological and skeletal delays in young and developing animals. Autism obviously includes neurological delays, AND the CDC also cites a study that found that children with autism have thinner bones than the controls.

Also, the NNii concedes that children's aluminum levels do temporarily exceed the minimal risk level after being vaccinated, but that 50-70 percent is filtered out the next day so they're not worried about it. Sure if it was only one shot, but we're talking about 13 aluminum-containg vaccines by the time a child is 6 months old (For those of you who are curious, there were only 3 aluminum-containing vaccine doses by 6 months of age back in 1983). They haven't done any further studies to determine what happens to the remaining 50-30 percent. Is the remaining aluminum removed by the body, or is it deposited in these children's brain and skeletal tissue? 50-70 percent is a big difference, so obviously some children's bodies are more efficient at filtering aluminum that others. Certain factors, such as elevated circulating parathyroid hormone increase aluminum absorption. Also, mercury and aluminum are synergistic, and studies have found that children's risk of autism directly correlates to how close they live to power plants (this is believed to be due to the higher levels of environmental mercury due to pollution). Children with autism have had tests that show they have both high levels of mercury and aluminum.

And before anyone brings up the issue of how much aluminum is in soy baby formula, ingested aluminum and injected aluminum are two very different things.

The toxic dose of aluminum for an adult is 350 mcg or .350 mg. Extra strength antacid tablets contain 160 mg of aluminum hydroxide in each tablet, and the directions say to take 2-4 tablets up to four times a day. So there HAS to be a difference between ingested and injected aluminum or else a single antacid tablet would be toxic. (Remember, the FDA limited the injectable aluminum-containing solutions to 25 mcg. That's .025 mg and the antacid tablet contains 160 mg)

Everything has a toxic limit

wanted to add I'm voting for OBAMA, because McCain/Palin doesn't give a crap about anyones kids.

I am so tired of hearing them LIE about thimerosol!!! I just read it off the label of dtap 3 months ago!!! Don't believe me? GO LOOK! They didn't remove it in 1999. It was in every one of my autistic daughters first shots in 2001/2002!! EVERY DAMN ONE. I pointed it out and was told "oh no its harmless". My kid started staring into space after being alert and normal. She never talked,she hit all milestones before shots early, after shots, everything was different, shes 7 and can't talk at all! STOP LYING about the preservative being removed I know for a fact it was not.

I have a 6 year old son with autism and we will NOT be supporting McCain no matter how many special needs children Pailn may have. Mc Cain is all about keeping the wars going which that and the economy which he helped the Republicans deregulate, will suck up all the money needed for research and new therapies for autism. The very latest debate between Obama and McCain also revealed a very scary detail-- he is out of touch even with autism and what it is, connecting Sarah Palin's down syndrome baby with autism. They are two very different disorders and the research for one has nothing to do with the research for the other. This showed me that he is not just out of touch with the economy but with other important matters that affect us. I'm sure Sarah Palin's children will be taken care of just fine during a McCain/Palin administration while the rest of us get our programs axed.

hi i am justing wanting to say that you rock mccain!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am a nurse and a mother of a child with Autism. I WAS a mother of a perfectly healthy, advanced-language for his age son until he got his 1 year old shots. We have him on video singing and talking before his shots. Within 1 week...nonverbal. I dare you to ask to see the packet inserts for the vaccinations before you let them give them to you kids! I bet you anything thimerisol is still in there....just not enough for them to have to tell you there is! Look at the "ingredient list" on the packet insert! Kind of like diet pops can claim they are calorie free when they aren't....just not enough to have to say they are.

I have two sons with high functioning autism. One is 8 the other is 4 years old. After they had their last shots around August 2007 we saw a big differance in their behavior. They became more defiant with more screaming.
The shots do effect children!

All the information that is posted is very interesting but show me some proof!
For instance websites or articles
thanks

Joe wrote:
"My son changed froma perfectly normal toddler into a bot ruled by autism within 3 days of his MMR vaccine.... The government does not want to admit it because they said it was safe to use Thimerisol in shots."

The MMR vaccine never contained thimerosal. You're confusing two unrelated autism theories.

Please, Everyone, it is important not to lie in order to make out points of view heard or believed. The MMR vaccine did not cause any adult epilepsy and you know it.

I am a pediatrician in Chicago and I must say that the vaccines-cause-autism crowd are convincing DESPITE the essential component of PROOF. I think it is easier for them to get their point across than any pediatrician could because all we physicians have is the need and imperative to show why we come to a particular conclusion. They say, "I'm a parent and that is how I feel" and that seems to be good enought to convince othr parents that these people have a legitimate point of view. Would anyone please tell me where the controversy is? You have the medical authorities who are supposedly experts in healthcare saying unwaveringly that there is no relationship. On the other side, there is a group of hacks of whatever backgrounds saying that they remember something being some way before something else happened so we should risk the health of the public at large based on that. Please understand that I concur that autism is a devastating condition for families and that it requires a lot in terms of care. My position is regarding causation and what to do about whatever the cause might be. When they do put out some thinly-veiled and poorly-conducted, likely made-up study, they claim suppression of information after it gets shot down. This whole conversation is easier than Roswell & UFOs. People can shout as loud from the hilltops as loudly as they want about how real or surreal their experiences were, it really does not matter to me. They have no evidence and that is quite clear. When they start putting the health of children at risk, I feel that I need to speak up also. Please continue to seek truth and not just some paranoid suspicions.

What a joke -- of COURSE it is vaccines making our kids sick. What else do kids have in common all over the world besides vaccines? All their environments/genetics are different, but the are all getting shot full of a variety of chemical cocktails that are bypassing every defense their body has and going straight into the blood stream. Yes, mercury may be in the environment, but your skin and gastric juices offer you some defense -- it doesn't go straight into your blood stream!
For the poster who said unvaccinated kids are getting autism, I challenge him to go find 20. Just 20. I read that scientists were going to study autism in the Amish (because they don't vaccinate) and they COULDN'T FIND ANY TEST SUBJECTS TO STUDY! None of my kids are vaxed and never will be -- I saw my own nephew go from a shiny, bright child to a kid who can now never live on his own thanks to autism. My kids are healthier than ANY kids I know -- my 12yo and 4yo have never had any illness, have never seen a doctor in their life. My 9yo has been ONCE for pinkeye. HOW MANY vaxed kids have that kind of health record -- if it is not learning disorders, it's asthma or other things, and nobody seems to know why. I'd much rather my kid get measles or mumps (which I was vaccinated for both and got BOTH anyway, and they were no big deal) than risk the chemical stew that is in vaccines. There is much controversy about shots for pets, and those shots causing cancers, seizures and other maladies. I can only hope some will connect the dots to see that there are also issues with shots for humans too.

Autism is now being diagnosed in the US at a rate of 1 in 150. The numbers fair worse in England and a bit better in other developed countries, but regardless there is no doubt we are dealing with a global epidemic.

It is impossible to have a 'genetic epidemic.' To blame the rise of Autism, Aspergers, PDD-NOS, ADHD/ADD, language delays, and other neurological disorders on genes alone is disingenous at best.

In 1999 the pharmaceutical companies began to PHASE OUT thimerosol (a mercury preservative) from most infant vaccines. Some say the phasing out has been completed, others disagree. I recommend reading the manufacturer's insert.

For example, I know that to this day, the Hep-B shot (which is administered at the hospital before discharge, then again at 3 mo., and 6 mo.) still contains thimerosol. If you read the manufacturer's package insert, it clearly states there are "traces of thimerosol" in the Hep-B shot.

For anyone wanting to know more read: "Evidence of Harm" by David Kirby (who contributed to the health and science section of The New York Times for eight years before writing this book).

Also visit: w w w . generationrescue . org

and Google Dr. Sears February 2008 article on vaccines.

I think anyone who doesn't get their child vaccinated should be arrested for medical neglect and thrown in jail for endangering the public. We have seen countless times, horrible disease make their return to communities take reject immunizations. Very rarely people can get Guillian Barre and some other immune mediated affects but autism has been disproven to be a complication and People definately don't get seizures from immunizations. As per what people are responding with to this article is a great indication that what McCain says is ignorant and dangerous. I thought for once we had an intelligent republican candadate. These comments he made completely turns me off to him.

I have a normal healthy child who is supposed to get her MMR shot in 2 months. Recently, I decided to return to university at age 30. Since I could not prove that I had received the MMR within a ten year period of time I had to have the shot in order to register for classes. I had the vaccination and the next day I had a grand mal seizure...I have never had seizures in my life and was very happy and healthy. It continually got worse and doctors told me it had nothing to do with the MMR, "it was just coincidence". After a long hospital stay, difficulty concentrating, walking, taking care of my daughter...I have been diagnosed with Brain Injury and Epilepsy. It changed my whole life (driver license taken away, etc) and no one seems to believe me. My daughter will NOT receive the shot, no way, no how. Children cannot not always speak for themselves, but as an adult I know my life changed the moment I had the MMR.

I'm the father of an autistic son, and I have always found those who vilify vaccinations to be an unnecessary sidetrack on the path to assisting and understanding those with autism. Science has never backed that view, and all the money spent to repeatedly disprove it could be channeled into special education programs where the dollars could actually do some good.

No surprise, however, that the Republican candidate has to straddle the fence between science and any wacko idea out there, as his base includes creationists, flat-earthers, and global warming deniers.

Thank you so much Tanner's Dad you really helped me!

Thank you so much Tanner's Dad you really helped me!

1. Do you personally know anyone that has Autism?
Yes... My son's last words after his shots for school were "My name is Tanner. My name is Tanner" He is low functioning non-verbal autistic.

2. Do you know a lot of information about Autism?

I have been imersed in the subject for more than 5 years.

Would you consider yourself an expert?

I am comfortable that I know more about ASD than 99% + of the general public.

3. Do you believe mercury causes Autism?

Mercury is one environmental factor that impacts Autism.

4. Do you believe that thimerosal has made Autism increase?

Yes I have yet to see what I consider a study that does not have bias or mistakes that can eliminate it as a factor in the rise of ASD.

5. Why do you think that the rate of Autism is at 1 out of 150 children?

Environmental stress (Mercury and other things we put into our children). Also better diagnosis plays a part.

6. Why do you believe that that number varies from state to state?

Again environmental impact, reporting, and support. I have experienced treatment programs in 7 states.

Is it the environment?
Part of the issue is the environment.

The mercury in the environment?
I believe this is part of the issue.

7. Do you believe that testing childrens’ hair is an accurate test of mercury causing Autism?

NO... The mercury deposits are found in other organs throughout the body. Part of the issue is this subgroup can not excrete the mercury like the majority.