Autism Associations shows CDC and FDA to be negligent

National Autism Association announced Tuesday that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and some pharmaceutical companies have become a target for investigation.

The Office of Special Counsel (OSC) is said to receive hundreds of letters from concerned citizens regarding exposures to the neurotoxic chemical Thimerosal, a preservative used in high doses to keep multi-dose childhood vaccines and some pregnancy injections from "spoiling." Thimerosal, a drug-company trade name, contains mercury, which is the second most toxic substance on earth.

In their request to the OSC, citizens state that the national vaccination program continues to be compromised by CDC's egregious conflicts of interest and failure to objectively evaluate cumulative mercury exposures through infant immunizations. Since the late 90's, when government agencies discovered high doses of mercury were being used, the FDA neglected to recall products containing the neurotoxin, despite objections from clinical researchers, physicians, and parents.

The OSC is also being asked to investigate a private meeting held in mid-2000 where over 40 doctors, among CDC and other health professionals, acknowledged a statistical correlation between mercury exposure through pediatric vaccines and neurological disorders in children including autism, ADHD, stuttering, tics and speech and language delays.

Evidence of collusion is recorded in the transcripts of the private meeting known as "The Simpsonwood Transcripts," accessed by an advocacy group through the Freedom of Information Act. Lisa Sykes of Richmond, VA, and fellow parent Kelli Ann Davis of Fayetteville, NC, launched the OSC mass-mailing.

Hundreds of state and federal government officials, along with press and broadcast reporters, were copied on the correspondence. "We're truly concerned," says Lisa Sykes. "It's very obvious the CDC, FDA, and drug companies are attempting to cover up what happened to our children -- we're asking the OSC for a serious, unbiased investigation," she said. Two months ago, the CDC banned independent researchers from reviewing a taxpayer-funded database that contains anonymous vaccine, vaccine-dose, and health histories of millions of children across the United States, even though they were previously given access. "CDC's track-record of manipulating findings has us extremely concerned that the data will be compromised under their watch," says Kelli Ann Davis. "The data gives us important clues into the Thimerosal-autism connection, so we feel the CDC is hiding something," she says.

Many parents and doctors believe Thimerosal was fully removed from all vaccines in 2001. Citizens were sure to list in their letters over ten vaccines that still contain the neurotoxin in full dose, some of which have an expiration date of late 2005. "We hope our request to the OSC will bring accurate information to light for the sake of our children and the future of the vaccination program," says Sykes. To see the official letter to the OSC, Simpsonwood Transcripts, or to learn more about the autism-Thimerosal connection, visit http://www.NationalAutism.org .