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Library Categories > Politics, Public Policy and Advocacy > Sen. John McCain Links Rise in Autism Cases to Thimerosal

 
Library Item Name:

Sen. John McCain Links Rise in Autism Cases to Thimerosal 		   
Summary Statement:

So it seems that Senator John McCain has made his entrance into autism politics: At a town meeting in Texas today, McCain said that “‘there’s strong evidence’” that thimerosal, the mercury-based preservative, is responsible for the rising numbers of autistic children in the US. Writes Jake Tapper on Political Punch on ABC News:

http://www.autismvox.com/sen-john-mccain-links-rise-in-autism-cases-to-thimerosal/
Content:

Sen. John McCain Links Rise in Autism Cases to Thimerosal
by Kristina Chew, PhD on February 29th, 2008
So it seems that Senator John McCain has made his entrance into autism politics: At a town meeting in Texas today, McCain said that “‘there’s strong evidence’” that thimerosal, the mercury-based preservative, is responsible for the rising numbers of autistic children in the US. Writes Jake Tapper on Political Punch on ABC News:

McCain was responding to a question from the mother of a boy with autism, who asked about a recent story that the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program had issued a judgment in favor of an unnamed child whose family claimed regressive encephalopathy and symptoms of autism were caused by thimerosal. [Note: The government’s concession in this case does not specify thimerosal as “causing” the child’s condition; see below.]

“We’ve been waiting for years for kind of a responsible answer to this question, and are hoping that you can help us out there,” the woman said.

McCain said, per ABC News’ Bret Hovell, that “It’s indisputable that (autism) is on the rise amongst children, the question is what’s causing it. And we go back and forth and there’s strong evidence that indicates that it’s got to do with a preservative in vaccines.”

McCain said there’s “divided scientific opinion” on the matter, with “many on the other side that are credible scientists that are saying that’s not the cause of it.”

Tapper then points out that there is no valid scientific evidence linking autism to vaccines or to anything in vaccines and cites the recent study finding a rise in autism diagnoses even after thimerosal was removed from vaccines, as well as referencing the CDC, the AAP, the Institute of Medicine, and others who regularly incur the wrath of organizations who insist that there is a link between vaccines and autism.

Regarding the statement by the mother whose question McCain was responding to: The government’s concession in one of the vaccine injury cases in the Autism Omnibus is a legal, not a scientific judgment, as Orac reminds, and it does not specify thimerosal as causing the child to become autistic. This is the government’s analysis:

In sum, DVIC has concluded that the facts of this case meet the statutory criteria for demonstrating that the vaccinations CHILD received on July 19, 2000, significantly aggravated an underlying mitochondrial disorder, which predisposed her to deficits in cellular energy metabolism, and manifested as a regressive encephalopathy with features of autism spectrum disorder.Therefore, respondent recommends that compensation be awarded to petitioners in accordance with 42 U.S.C. § 300aa-11(c)(1)(C)(ii).

DVIC has concluded that CHILD’s complex partial seizure disorder, with an onset of almost six years after her July 19, 2000 vaccinations, is not related to a vaccine-injury.

Let’s hope that Sen. McCain and whoever advises him about scientific issues are fully up to date on their research, and that they read carefully. As anyone who’s gotten into a discussion/exchange/debate/mudslinging fest about vaccines and/or mercury and autism know, there’s a lot of opinions, a lot of dubious science, and a lot of scientific evidence about this topic—-evidence, that is, that there is no link between vaccines or something in vaccines and autism.
Tags:

Autism,  McCain,  Vaccines
Submission Date:

09/06/2008by: momo3auts
Current rating:


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