|
|
Hi All, Just received this today in email and wanted to share with anyone out there who is concerned about mercury in vaccines ,................... I will update if I receive further info about this.
For Immediate Release:
Contact: Jaillene Hunter,
(202) 225-3671; (202)-577-5285
February 17, 2005
Jaillene.Hunter@mail.house.gov
Weldon/Maloney Introduce Legislation
Banning Mercury From Vaccines
Legislation Eliminates This Exposure For Children and Pregnant Women
(Washington, D.C.) - U.S. Reps. Dave Weldon, M.D. (R-FL) and Carolyn Maloney
(D-NY) reintroduced H.R. 881 today eliminating mercury from vaccines. Given
increasing concerns about mercury exposures and the body's ability to
eliminate mercury, this bill will virtually eliminate the mercury exposure
from vaccines.
In 1999 the Public Health Service and the American Academy of Pediatrics
recommended removal of thimerosal from child vaccines. Five years later,
thimerosal (50% mercury) remains in childhood vaccines. Last year, the CDC
recommended that children receive the flu vaccine without recommending that
infants and pregnant women get only the mercury-free dose.
"Our bipartisan legislation is necessary to stop CDC from rolling back the
clock when it comes to eliminating this mercury exposure to for infants and
pregnant women," said Rep. Weldon, a physician. "Our bill sets in place a
law giving vaccine manufacturers and public health officials a realistic but
firm timetable for elimination of mercury."
"It's a simple concept: kids shouldn't be given anything that's toxic. The
pharmaceutical industry is starting to get the mercury out, but we need to
know that it's gone without any doubt," said Maloney.
Mercury is a neurotoxin and is harmful to the developing central nervous
system of fetuses and infants. The EPA found that 1-in-6 infants are born
with a blood mercury level above the level considered safe by the EPA.
Furthermore, the Food and Drug Administration and the EPA have warned
pregnant women and young children to limit their consumption of certain fish
in order to reduce mercury exposures.
The Legislation:
Requires that beginning with the 2006/07 flu season, the flu shots for
children under age three and pregnant women may not contain more than 1
microgram (mcg) of mercury;
Requires that beginning with the 2007/08 flu season, the flu shots for
children under age six and pregnant women may not contain more than 1mcg of
mercury;
Requires by July 1, 2006, all other routinely administered childhood
vaccines, may not contain more than 1mcg of mercury and on Jan 1, 2009, all
pediatric, adolescent and adult vaccines that contain more than 1mcg of
mercury are banned;
Expresses the Sense of the Congress that the CDC should incorporate into its
vaccine promotion messages, a recommendation against administering a
mercury-containing vaccine to pregnant women. UPDATE (another email update received)
Unlocking Autism calls on President Bush to issue Executive Order Banning Thimerosal
Baton Rouge, LA - Today Unlocking Autism issued an open letter to President George W. Bush reminding him that he expressed his full support for the removal of mercury from childhood vaccines in a written response from the Republican National Committee dated September 22, 2004 and requested that he issue an Executive Order banning the use of the product for children under the age of 18 and pregnant women.
Prior to the election, Unlocking Autism, a non-profit organization representing children with autism and their parents, asked President Bush to state his position on the mercury preservative, Thimerosal, in vaccines. The Baton Rouge, Louisiana based group maintains that the President has a duty to communicate his position on the removal of mercury from vaccines to other Republican Senators and Congresspersons now that Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) has introduced Senate Bill 3. The legislation would immunize drug companies who produce mercury-containing vaccines from all liability for vaccine-related autism due to mercury poisoning.
"The fact that President Bush stated before the election that mercury should be removed childhood vaccines means he believes thimerosal could, in fact, cause harm. If the President of the United States supports the removal of mercury from childhood vaccines, then surely he cannot support legislation that protects drug companies from accountability for the injuries caused by mercury in vaccines," said Shelley Reynolds, President of Unlocking Autism.
Autism is a developmental disability that generally appears during the second year of life. In most cases, the child is progressing normally, and then begins to regress losing speech, social skills and physical abilities. Autism has no known cause, although there is a hypothesis with mounting evidence that mercury-containing vaccines may be responsible for neurological and developmental disorders, including autism, in a growing number of children.
Thimerosal has been used as a preservative in vaccines for decades but is not a necessary component for vaccines. When vaccines are produced in single dose vials, the preservative is not necessary. Thimerosal was banned from over the counter and prescribed topical medications and products in the mid-1990's.
Fifteen years ago, autism affected one in 10,000 children. According to an alert issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the CDC in January of 2004, the incidence of autism is now one in every 166 children.
"President Bush has already demonstrated what his leadership can do with the swift passage of the No Child Left Behind initiative during his last term in office," states Reynolds. "We hope he gets behind a No Mercury in Vaccines initiative, issues an Executive Order banning the use of Thimerosal and makes sure that S. 3 is not passed by his own party."
MsSteelersFan38409.4035532407ANOTHER UPDATE:
I received this in email from a Unlocking Autism rep I guess you could say..........
Unlocking Autism's letter (www.unlockingautism.org)............
Dear President Bush,
On behalf of the members of Unlocking Autism, a national non-profit organization, I request that you issue an Executive Order banning the use of Thimerosal in vaccines for children and pregnant women.
In the summer of 2004, Unlocking Autism submitted a list of seven questions to you with regard to issues faced by those families whose children have autism spectrum disorders. We were so thrilled that you took the time to respond. As soon as we received the completed questionnaire, we posted it on our web site and informed the autism community of your answers.
The second question asked if you would support a ban on the use of Thimerosal in children's and adult vaccines. You answered......
"I support the removal of Thimerosal from vaccines on the childhood national vaccine schedule. During a second term as President, I will continue to support increased funding to support a wide variety of research initiatives aimed at seeking definitive causes and/or triggers of autism. It is important to note that while they are many possible theories about causes or triggers of autism, no one material has been definitely included or excluded,"
.......that you would indeed support a ban with regard to any vaccines on the children's national vaccine schedule containing Thimerosal.
While the mercury-based preservative has been removed as an active additive in most vaccines on the children's schedule, there are still some vaccines on the schedule that use Thimerosal, including the flu vaccine. Additionally, while the preservative has been removed from most vaccines, Thimerosal is still being used in the manufacturing process and then "filtered out." The product is then labeled "Thimerosal free."
I realize that there are still some questions with regard to the possibility of a connection between autism and vaccines, and more specifically the Thimerosal connection, but I am writing to you to request that you issue an Executive Order banning the use of Thimerosal in any vaccine given to any child under the age of 18 and to pregnant women. When vaccines are packaged in single dose vials, the use of this preservative is completely unnecessary. The pharmaceutical manufacturers will be the first to admit this.
Regardless of the possibility of a connection between neurodevelopmental disorders like autism and mercury, it is not wise to expose any child, whose brain is developing to a neurotoxin that contains mercury. Minuscule amounts of mercury can kill neurons and destroy cells. So, regardless of the autism/mercury debate, to use mercury at all makes no sense.
In 1982, twenty-three years ago, an FDA panel recommended that Thimerosal be removed from over-the-counter products like contact lens solution because of its toxicity and ability to cause cell death. It is time to remove it from the vaccines we give our children as well.
We are asking you to adhere to the promise you made to our community on the campaign trail to support the ban of Thimerosal. It is clear to me that if you think it should not be used then it must be harmful. I would also request that you inform Members of Congress about your concerns with regard to Thimerosal, especially since Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) has authored S 3 which would protect the liability of pharmaceutical companies that have used and continue to use this harmful substance.
I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience regarding this matter.
With kindest regards,
Shelley H. Reynolds
President, Unlocking Autism
PO Box 15388
Baton Rouge, LA 70895
www.unlockingautism.org
Keys2UA@aol.com
Thanks for all of that information.
autism38684.8633796296“THE MERCURY CALCULATOR”Just an "FYI"
MEDIA ADVISORY
OFFICE OF CONGRESSMAN DAN BURTON
FIFTH DISTRICT, INDIANA
2185 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515
(202)-225-2276 FAX (202)-225-0016
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MARCH 16, 2005
REP. BURTON INTRODUCES NATIONAL VACCINE INJURY COMPENSATION PROGRAM IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2005
Washington, D.C. - Congressman Dan Burton (R-IN-5), formally introduced the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program Improvement Act of 2005 (H.R. 1349) in the U.S. House of Representatives last night.
"The Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) was designed back in 1988 to be a non-adversarial alternative to civil litigation," stated Congressman Burton. "Seventeen years later, the reality is that the system has become quite litigious and there are some serious problems with the program. I am re-introducing this important legislation to address the fairness and accessibility issues vaccine-injured families are facing."
Continued Congressman Burton, "Specifically, my legislation seeks to amend the current VICP rules by extending the statute of limitations, increasing the base amount of funding available to those injured, and providing a
critical two-year look back provision for families who previously missed the filing deadlines."
The National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program Improvement Act of 2005 (H.R. 1349) is tri-partisan legislation - currently with a dozen co-sponsors - that builds upon recommendations to improve the VICP as outlined by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines.
The bill seeks to:
· Extend the statute of limitations for seeking compensation to six years from the date of injury. Under current law, families must file within two years of a child's death or three years of a child's injury.
· Provide a one-time, two-year period for families with post-1988 injuries to file a petition if they were previously excluded from doing so because they missed the statute of limitations.
· Allow for the payment of interim attorney's fees and legal costs while a petition is being adjudicated. The costs of assembling the necessary medical records and obtaining expert witnesses are substantial. Under current law, these costs, as well as attorney's fees, are not reimbursed until a case is fully resolved, which oftentimes takes three to seven years. Some cases have taken ten years to resolve and for reimbursements to be made.
· Increase compensation for future lost earnings for injured children. Under current law, compensation is based on the average weekly earnings of full and part-time workers as determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This bill would specify that only full-time workers should beused in the calculation.
· Increase the level of compensation to a family after a vaccine-related death from $250,000 to $300,000. The death benefit has remained unchanged since the program's inception fifteen years ago.
· Allow for families of vaccine-injured children to be compensated for the costs of family counseling.
· Create and maintain a guardianship to administer the funds.
During his tenure as Chairman of the House Committee on Government Reform (1997-2002) and the Subcommittee on Human Rights & Wellness (2003-2004), Congressman Burton held no fewer than 20 hearings to examine the possible
correlation between mercury-containing vaccines and the increasing incidents of autism. Despite the growing body of evidence suggesting such an association is real, many in our Federal health agencies continue to dispute this conclusion. Scientific evidence aside, the numbers simply do not lie. Although autism used to be a rare disease affecting only 1 out of every 10,000 individuals, it now afflicts 1.5 million Americans nationwide. Furthermore, autism is not a fatal disease. Therefore, the families of autistic individuals are facing high-priced medical care for years to come with little to no assistance.
Concluded Congressman Burton, "By enacting these common-sense reforms, we can make sure the VICP operates as it was intended to, as a flexible, non-adversarial system that handles claims in an efficient and generous manner so as to avoid the need for civil litigation. I believe creating a stronger VICP is a win-win solution for everyone involved. The families of those afflicted with vaccine injuries will have a fair and user-friendly venue to seek some means of restitution, and pharmaceutical companies will no longer be under the shadow of the threat of costly and potentially
industry-crippling class-action lawsuits. Embracing this solution would be good for the industry as well as society."
"The National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program has helped thousands of Americans who have suffered injuries from vaccines, however, there are many families and individuals that continue to suffer unnecessarily," said Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr., the lead Democratic co-sponsor. "I am proud to support this legislation because it will improve the current system and ensure fair and timely recourse for the devastating events that can result from vaccinations."
The Department of Health and Human Services, upon reviewing the recommendations of the CDC's Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines, submitted suggested legislation in 1999, which the Bush administration has since endorsed. H.R. 1349 incorporates most of these recommendations, as well as other recommendations that were put forth during the course of Congressman Burton's six year investigation.
For more information regarding Congressman Burton's legislative and investigative efforts on Federal vaccine policy, please visit the designated healthcare page on his website at www.house.gov/burton/wellness.
Nick Mutton
Press Secretary
Congressman Dan Burton(R-IN-5)
2185 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515
202.225.2276 - office
202.225.0016 - fax
202.225.9560 - cell
www.house.gov/burton Thanks for posting all of that information. I will be sure to print it out and save it for a later time. The information that you have provided us should be useful for us at somepoint in our lives. autism38442.3438888889Please check the info here if this interests you support removal of thimerosal from shotsYea!!!!!!!! Iread the link that you just posted. I really hadn't read very much about the mercury connection until now. I had Benjamin fully immunized. I don't regret that. He has spent alot of time in some sort of daycare or public schooling and I feel that mant cg=hildhood diseases are crippping or deadly. I'd rather live with PDD-NOS than other disabling or deadly options. I am horrofied though that people would knowingly, even plan, for children to be injected with toxic substances. that blows me away. I remembet therlydimide. JanetI don't get those that say there is no mercury problem causing autism. Didn't our government warn pregnant women about eating shellfish or fish from certain parts of the ocean because the mercury content could be harmful? So, it's harmful for pregnant women but not children? Give me a break. Also, I was just made aware that a study showed the Amish in Lancaster Co PA do not have near the cases of autim the rest of America does. The reason? They do not get vaccinated. Autism has been in my family for years but for many I think it's the mercury. It's got to be. Hi to all
I heard there is a new book written by MR. David Kirby, "Evidence of Harm". People who read the book say "wonderful, objective, informative book. Everyone should read" Heres the link to the book Evidence Of Harm you can view it or purchase it online http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0312326440/ref=sib_dp_pt/103 -3513834-9407064#reader-page |