John McCain Enters the Autism Wars

Hi,
I’m a student at a college in New England majoring in Psychology. For my Research Methods class I need to do a study and I chose to do Mercury causing Autism. I have a few questions that I would be very greatful if anyone would answer them and maybe give me an idea of how you feel about the subject. Thank you for taking the time.

1. Do you personally know anyone that has Autism?
2. Do you know a lot of information about Autism? Would you consider yourself an expert?
3. Do you believe mercury causes Autism?
4. Do you believe that thimerosal has made Autism increase?
5. Why do you think that the rate of Autism is at 1 out of 150 children?
6. Why do you believe that that number varies from state to state?
Is it the environment?
The mercury in the environment?
7. Do you believe that testing childrens’ hair is an accurate test of mercury causing Autism?

What's next in line of conspiracy theories gaining mainstream acceptance-the rigging of the 2004 presidential election in Ohio, the NAFTA superhighway, or AIDS not being a disease?

None of you have answered my questions.

None of you have answered my questions.

How can parents tolerate Gerberding's Lies?

Why if everyone is so confident that there are no side effects to vaccines do we need double speak and dishonesty?

The parents are not stupid... We know vaccines do great things for the general population.

We also believe we need to get the bad things out of our environment.

I guess when you have a son who could talk and use his body one day... Then he gets shots and does not talk and function... You tend to discount just about anything anybody says.
None of you have answered my questions.
How can parents tolerate Gerberding's Lies? This is not the only case. Admit it. Give help to those that need it... And let's move on.

We need Therapy, respite, and Recovery now!

Tim, from IL-

Coincidences do happen over and over again.

Consider this. Over the past century, the number of storks has diminished in all industrialized countries, and so have birth rates. Today, in countries where storks are abundant, for instance in Africa where they stay in winter, birth rates are also high. There is a clear, highly significant positive correlation between the frequencies of storks and babies. There is also a theory about storks bringing children. Do storks cause births? Or do babies bring storks?

Most people would say no and no. Simply because there may be an apparent correlation between vaccines and autism does not mean that one causes the other. Furthermore, unvaccinated children acquire autism, too. So, at the very least, vaccines are not the only cause, if they are a cause at all (for which there is almost no evidence), of autism. Probably a variety of genetic and environmental causes contribute to the development of autism.

Thank you, Rick, for posting the new connections between autism and genetics. Once the mechanism behind autism is clearer, research can be done to determine possible treatments.

While I have no personal experience with autism, I truly feel for people who have. I just don't feel that attacking vaccines and the people who make them is productive. Instead, we should focus on researching more tangible causes (like genetics and environmental factors), so we can in turn provide the treatments that people are so badly seeking. At heart, I feel this is a funding issue. For whatever reason, not enough money is available to fund unbiased research about many diseases, let alone autism. I feel it is too much of a generalization to claim it is basically a government conspiracy.

I also look forward to more studies that refute the autism/ vaccine link and bring to light an environmental/ DNA link.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Scientists revealed the most extensive findings to date on the genetics of autism on Sunday, pinpointing two new genetic links that may predispose children to develop the complex brain disorder.

The five-year study, led by an international consortium of researchers from 19 nations, indicated autism had numerous genetic origins rather than a single or a few primary causes.

The researchers scoured DNA samples from 1,168 families with two or more children with autism, and used "gene chip" technology to detect genetic similarities. They also looked for tiny insertions and deletions of genetic material that could play a role in autism.

The scientists hope that nailing down the genetics of autism will lead to better ways to diagnose it and focus efforts on developing drugs to treat it. They announced they are launching a new phase in the research to map genes responsible for autism.

The study incriminated a gene called neurexin 1 involved with glutamate, a brain chemical previously implicated in autism that plays a role in early brain development, as a possible susceptibility gene for autism. A previously unidentified region of chromosome 11 also was implicated.

Autism is a spectrum of disorders apparently stemming from genetic and environmental causes. Geneticist Stephen Scherer of the University of Toronto and the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto said 90 percent of autism may have a genetic basis.

"What we have now that we didn't really have before is a pretty decent understanding of what the genetic architecture is looking like in the autism genome," said Scherer, who worked on the study published in the journal Nature Genetics.

On March 7, 2008, the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) received notification of a 15-month-old unvaccinated child with laboratory-confirmed measles (IgM-positive, IgG-negative, serum collected on February 27). The child is a resident of northern Virginia and returned to the United States after a 2.5-week visit to India on February 22. On the return flight (February 21–22) from New Delhi to Newark, New Jersey, the child developed fever and cold-like symptoms.

This child ended up becoming very ill with measles. Whe the HECK are people thinking? Taking an unvaccinated child to India? Since they purposely did not vaccinate this child, and did something idiotic, their health insurance should deny the claims to treat this child for this preventable disease.

A coincidence does not happen over and over again...

If the law mandates the vaccination then the Government is responsible for therapy, respite, recovery, and remediation.

So far all the parents get is smoke screens, lies, deflection, lies, delay, lies, and portral as the bad guys.

Creditablility is built on honesty and trust... One cannot say there is no link and then concede. It is not either/or... There is no such thing as Autism like... We already have a spectrum... Therefore the vacinations are involved in causing Autism. Double speak all you want.

The over 4800 cases are just the families of the Doctors and lawyers... Eventually the families of the non-professionals will have their day...

A vaccine is not going to cause an instantaneous neuroligical deconditioning of a child. It is merely a coincidence. These kids are born with genetic anomalies that manifest themselves at different times and different ways. Parents want someone and something to blame. That is understandable. But it isn't the government's responsibility to pay for therapy for autistic children. It is the parent's responsibility.

Why if everyone is so confident that there are no side effects to vaccines do we need double speak and dishonesty?

The parents are not stupid... We know vaccines do great things for the general population.

We also believe we need to get the bad things out of our environment.

I guess when you have a son who could talk and use his body one day... Then he gets shots and does not talk and function... You tend to discount just about anything anybody says.
None of you have answered my questions.
How can parents tolerate Gerberding's Lies? This is not the only case. Admit it. Give help to those that need it... And let's move on.

We need Therapy, respite, and Recovery now!

It is amazing that no one seems to know or care that there is more mercury in our food and drinking water than there EVER has been in vaccines. And it is the "bad" kind of mercury that your body doesn't get rid of. But yet, we'll sit and blame vaccines. Never mind the fact that we're immersed in a toxic environment.

Vaccines such as HIB and pneumococcal have saved many lives. They are "newly required" vaccines. Do the research. Meningococcal has as well. Do some reading on these. More research is being done on vaccine preventable disease,a nd we are finding more ways to prevent death. Children die from pneumoccocal disease and HIB meningitis. The ingredients such as thimerosal were used to keep the vaccines from becoming contaminated with bacteria. They were used to keep vaccines safe. Autism is more "prevalent" now becuause it is diagnosed sooner and we are now calling things "autism" that never used to be categorized as such. I am looking forward to more studies being done so we can move on from this situation.

It will take serious studies done in 2010 and beyond to figure out the damage done by the perservatives and other additives. It has been shown there was mercury in the vaccine pool in 2003 and beyond. Flu shots alone could skew the data.

All the hysterical parents are saying is Green our vaccines. Look at the facts:
1983: Autism rate 1 in 10,000
Vaccine schedule 10 shots
2008: Autism rate in boys 1 in 70
Vaccine schedule 36
My sons last words:
"My name is Tanner. My name is Tanner."
The week of his shots for school...
Show me any other campaign for disinformation as wound up as this one by the medical(vaccine maker) community. Remove the Mecury, Aluminum, formaldehyde, ether, antifreeze. Reevaluate the schedule. What was the death rate from these deadly diseases in 1983 that we had to add 26shots? If there are side effects to the vaccinations all we asking for is support for therapy, respite, and recovery.

This does not represent anything other than a very special situation," said Dr. Julie Gerberding, head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Who are you going to believe the Boss doing the spin or the Judge that slipped?

The case may not be a first, said Gary Golkiewicz, chief special master for the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. He oversees the special "vaccine court" which rules on requests for payments from the vaccine injury fund.
"Years ago, actually, I had a case, before we understood or knew the implications of autism, that the vaccine injured the child's brain caused an encephalopathy," he said. And the symptoms that come with that "fall within the broad rubric of autism."
And there are other somewhat similar cases, Golkiewicz says, that were decided before autism and its symptoms were more clearly defined

Tim, how do you explain all of the current cases of autism? There are just as many, if not more than prior to 2001 when thimerosal was removed. There are children who have only recieved vaccines like MMR, Varicella, and polio which have never been produced using thimerosal and those children have autism. There are unvaccinated children with autism. What is your explanation from that? Time to start looking at environmental factors.

"What protects us from disease is our immune systems"

I would LOVE to see how the poster:Mercuryfree's immune system holds up against measles or hepatitis b. Our immune system cannot protect us against everything. Be realistic.

There is a HUGE difference between a trace <1 mcg and 25-500 mcg per vaccine. LESS THAN ONE MICROGRAM of ethyl Hg is NOT considered neurotoxic. Why don't people focus on some realistic causes such as environmental contaminants, as well as household toxins (vinyl flooring and siding is toxic, fame retardants in furniture, beds, etc is toxic, stain retardants in carpet are toxic, the list goes on and on. No one seems to be concerned about that.

"There is a major cover -up"

Wow. Now there is a conspiracy because SOME (not all) vaccines have a TRACE of thimerosal? Come on. Nothing is good enough. Pretty soon a vial of sterile water will cause cancer.

The goverment and Pharm. companies are hand in hand with this. There is a major cover -up. Vaccines are NOT completely free of thermisol. It is a percentage less than what the FDA allows a pharm. comp. to label as "Free"
It is still present , but at a lower dose. As far as "Do vaccines cause autism?" I just rather leave that question alone.

"I have to admit, though, it was my friends very outspoken sister in law who got me to pay attention to the issues surrounding vaccines. At lunch, She turned to me and asked me outright if I was vaccinating my daughter. When I said "of course," she looked at me in horror."

Ask a parent who lost their 18 year old college student to meningococcal meningitis the same question. I lost my sister to meningitis. It could have been prevented. She never got vaccinated.

" John’s truthfulness, dedication and what he believes in is demonstrated by his sincere actions and service as a Senator of the United States of America. We could do a whole lot worse than vote for John Mc Cain"

Are you kidding me?

McCain was opposing the war until he found out that supporting it could get him a vote for president. I won't be voting for him. Any ally of Bush is an enemy of mine.