March 6th is a day that forever changed the vaccine world. The Poling family went public on their case with the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), which was conceded and compensation ordered for vaccine induced autism. Government officials and medical professionals are now stating a link of this nature is rare. From plausible to no link and now rare seems to be an unlikely scientific finding and a very convenient excuse. The response should not be how rare, but actually investigating how many individuals are affected.

While the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has gone on record as stating that the VICP has never before the Polings case awarded compensation based on a link between vaccines and autism, it has been discovered that a similar case in December 1996 received compensation. Reporter, Sharyl Attkisson stated that CBS had discovered that nine such awards have been made starting as early as 1990.

In a leaked 1991 memo, Dr. Maurice Hilleman, then Senior Vice President of Merck and an internationally recognized vaccinologist, raised concerns regarding mercury in vaccines after calculating that exposure for a 6 month old was 87 times too high. The memo called attention to the DPT vaccine, which due to the many reports of adverse reactions and brain damage spurred Congress to create the VICP.

The 2000 the Centers for Disease Control's (CDC) Simpsonwood retreat minutes, recovered via the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), demonstrated that the Institutes of Medicine (IOM) 2004 Verstraeten study authors willfully made design alterations to the study for a predetermined and much desired outcome of no association between thimerosal and autism. Unsurprisingly, since the 2001 IOM report supporting a link as plausible, report recommendations calling for epidemiology, basic and clinical science have resulted in the Federal research focus being poorly designed and underpowered epidemiology, while overlooking independent clinical science demonstrating deleterious effects of thimerosal. It is apparent that government agencies have gone to great lengths to avoid examining, or revealing knowledge of, a link between vaccines and autism to the public.

Last month the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended that children from 6 months to 18 years of age receive annual flu shots, the majority of which contain thimerosal, while ample mercury-free supply exists. The CDC's rush to state immunization is safe, trust us, this award is only an aberration is hardly a surprise when in 2001 it was reported that they held 28 licensing agreements with companies and one university for vaccines, or vaccine-related products, and had eight ongoing projects to collaborate on new vaccines. These vested interests clearly place CDC in the vaccine business and represent grave conflicts of interest in the discharge of their duties, as noted in the 2003 Congressional Report - Mercury in Medicine - Taking Unnecessary Risks .

More disturbing, is CDC's Dr. Glen Nowak's 2004 presentation, "The Seven Step Recipe for Generating Interest in, and Demand for Flu (or any other) Vaccination", also known as a risk communication acknowledges that a component of success in increased uptake stems from information that creates motivating high levels of concern and anxiety. Shamefully, the unspoken eighth rule of the CDC's recipe would be - Use of terms conveying safety should be used liberally in immunization expansion efforts, whether true or not, in order to protect industry interests held by CDC and continue the illusion of serving "The People".

The failure of this year's flu vaccine coupled with VICP awards on cases linking thimerosal and autism isn't enough for the CDC to walk the talk regarding statements made eight years ago to remove thimerosal from vaccines "as soon as possible". As a result, the safety of our children has become secondary to the primary goal of increased uptake at all costs.

Fortunately, long time friend to our community, Congressman Dave Weldon M.D. continues to push for agency reform and vaccine safety.

· H.R. 1973: Vaccine Safety and Public Confidence Assurance Act of 2007 - Removes conflicts of interest with the CDC and creates a new agency, the Agency for Vaccine Safety Evaluation. This agency would monitor the National Immunization Program (NIP), vaccine studies and more and transfers CDC's responsibilities for the Vaccine Safety Datalink Project, the Clinical Immunization Safety Assessment Centers, or any other post-licensure vaccine safety monitoring activities to the newly created agency.

· H.R. 881: Mercury-Free Vaccines Act of 2007 - Mandates thimerosal's phased in removal from vaccines for children under six and pregnant women. The measure also requires that revision to the vaccine information included with mercury-containing vaccines include statements of mercury's presence in vaccines in use; mercury free alternatives and how to obtain them; and a recommendation against administration of any mercury-containing vaccine to a pregnant woman.

These measures need your support and the support of Congressmen (visit www.congress.org). Your voice in this process makes a difference - contact your Congressman and ask them to put the safety of our children first and The People's best interests before industry and sponsor these measures.

By now, many parents in America have heard of the Hannah Poling court case. They know the government has acknowledged that vaccines contributed to autism in at least one little girl from Georgia. Understandably, they are worried, and they want answers.

But instead of frank talk from leading health officials, their concerns are being met with stonewalling, denial and misinformation.

By refusing to address what really happened to Hannah - by commanding parents to settle down and adhere to the nation's rigid immunization regime - officials will only drive people away from vaccines in anxiety-ridden droves.

But what if we could test children for underlying conditions that might increase their risk of vaccine injury and autism? And what if we allowed those at risk to slightly delay and spread out their shots?

It's a difficult, but not impossible, proposition. And I believe doing so would reduce the rate of autism, seizure disorders and even asthma in some children. And we would boost vaccination rates by restoring faith in the nation's teetering immunization program.

Why do I say this? New documents have surfaced in the Poling case that shine more light on how Hannah's vaccine injury led to autism.

A government document filed in the case last November conceded that Hannah's vaccines had aggravated an underlying disorder of the mitochondria. Mitochondria are the tiny powerhouses within each cell that convert food and oxygen into energy. Government officials acknowledged that Hannah's disorder led to a condition known as low cellular energy metabolism, which was aggravated by vaccines and ultimately led to an autism diagnosis.

It was a tantalizing admission but did little to explain just how the vaccines had aggravated the disorder or caused autism.

But on Feb. 21, the U.S. government made a second, unpublicized concession in the case. In addition to triggering autism, officials now admitted, Hannah's vaccines had also led to her "seizure disorder," or epilepsy.

And there was more. The November document claimed that Hannah had a mitochondrial "disorder." But by February, this was modulated to a mere mitochondrial "dysfunction."

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Dr. Novella,

Thank you for generating interesting discussion regarding my little girl, Hannah Poling. I would like to give you additional information in order to generate further productive discussions on this matter amongst the neurology community. This information should assist you, Dr. DiMauro, and Dr. Trevethan, who have also commented publicly, to formulate better theories as to the significance of Hannah's mitochondrial dysfunction in relation to her autism.

Mito Dysfunction or Mito Disease? Chicken or Egg?
To begin with, I would like to point out that the spectrum of mitochondrial dysfunction is probably considered more broad and complex than the spectrum of neurobehavioral abnormalities seen with autism. Dysfunction of the mitochondria, specifically dysfunction of the oxidative phosphorylation pathway, most likely contributes, but may not be the cause of many diseases-including Parkinson's disease, Friedreich's Ataxia, Alzheimer disease, etc. Thus, it is probably incorrect to refer to mitochondrial dysfunctional and mitochondrial disease interchangeably. Indeed, the role of the dysfunctional mitochondrial are yet to be clarified in these diseases. Thus, I will refer to Hannah's metabolic condition as a mitochondrial dysfunction, not a mitochondrial disease.

Mito Genetic Finding? Mito mtDNA 'red herring'?
ADDITIONAL GENETIC TESTING NOT AVAILABLE IN THE J CHILD NEUROL CASE REPORT: Dr. Shoffner performed genetic testing on both Hannah's muscle and her mother's leukocytes subsequent to our case report. Hannah (muscle mtDNA) and her mother (leukocyte mtDNA) were both found to be HOMOPLASMIC for the mtDNA T2387C transition mutation.

Our analysis of this genetic finding in the mtDNA was significantly different than those of other physicians that I've seen in scientific blogs or commentary. I suspect it would have been fatal to both Hannah and her mother if this homoplasmic mutation was pathogenic since (as I am sure you are aware) the mutation is on the 16S ribosomal subunit which is highly conserved. Thus, this mutation probably represents a benign polymorphism rather than pathogenic mutation. It is unlikely, but possible, that the mutation is significant to Hannah, but in such a case, it must work in concert with other nuclear genes to cause her mitochondrial dysfunction. To our knowledge, this point mutation has not been reported in cases similar to Hannah's.

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For US Readers..... Five Bucks to Hit the Schmucks!
For UK Readers..... Three Pounds to Fox the Hounds!

The prosecution has had its day and the defence is about to begin. Thursday, March 27th 2008 sees the re-opening of the UK General Medical Council hearing in which Drs Wakefield, Murch and Walker-Smith will present their evidence to the GMC panel. To date, those responsible for the contrived allegations against Dr Wakefield and his ex colleagues have had free reign whilst the defendants have been silenced by the legal process. The children at the centre of one of the biggest cover-ups in the history of medicine have been hidden, their parents have been silenced and supporting professionals have had their careers threatened if they dare to speak out. But our time has come. Just as the US Government concedes that vaccines cause autism, Dr Wakefield and his ex-colleagues are preparing to speak in defence of themselves and on behalf of the international community of children affected by this shameful episode in medical history.

CryShame is committed to making your voice heard as the eyes of the autism world turn to London . On the 27th March we plan to display messages of support for the doctors, from parents, children and professionals throughout the world, in front of the GMC building. We then plan to continue the campaign for the length of the hearing and beyond. On the day he walks into the GMC building to begin his defence, Dr Wakefield will be presented with EVERY message received. CryShame are also planning to produce leaflets, postcards, placards, films, DVDs, a full page ad in the national press, mobile ad trucks, press and media packs. In addition we need to continue funding our website to tell the world the story, as it unfolds. Donations of as much as you can afford would help enormously - a donation of just $5 / £3 from each person receiving this email would make all of these things possible.

We ask you to visit the CryShame website to make a donation and leave a message of support that will be presented to Dr Wakefield on the day he begins his defence. There is also space on the form for you to nominate a child in order to have their name listed on display at the rally.

The eyes of the autism world are on us. Please be with us. Five Bucks to Hit the Schmucks / Three Pounds to Fox the Hounds

Many thanks!

CryShame : Parents and Professionals in support of Andrew Wakefield, Simon Murch and John Walker-Smith

TORONTO -- Thirty per cent of Canadian dentists missed a voluntary 2007 target to better control how they release mercury into the environment, but the dentists insist they're making good progress in cleaning up their act, even though they say they can't stop using the toxic substance.

Environmentalists, however, say the lack of any real standards is a major concern since low exposure to mercury can lead to learning disabilities in children, while more significant exposure can cause neurological damage or even death in severe cases. The Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment endorsed a set of voluntary Canada-wide standards in 2000 and 2001 to limit mercury emissions from base-metal smelters, coal-fired power plants, waste incinerators, mercury-containing lamps and from dental amalgam waste, which is a byproduct of dental fillings.

While all those emissions are decreasing, only 70 per cent of dentists hit their targets set for 2007 and the council said the industry has a long way to go before it reaches the goal of reducing mercury waste by 95 per cent.

Environmentalists say it's no surprise that the target was missed by so many dentists since it was only voluntary, and carried no penalty for non-compliance. "My view is you need to have a stronger system, any dentist that is not using proper approaches, one thing to do it is to fine them ... it's theoretically possible under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act,'' said Ken Ogilvie, executive director of Pollution Probe. It's estimated that as much as 1,046 kilograms of mercury was released by dentists into the wastewater stream in 2003, while the amount dropped by 57 per cent to 452 kilograms in 2007.

Mercury that's released into the environment can be absorbed in fish and wildlife and then transferred to humans when they eat those creatures, said Ogilvie. "It doesn't go away, it doesn't biodegrade in the environment the way an organic pollutant might, so you do want to limit mercury as tight as possible,'' he said.

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New York, NY, March 7 -"There is no valid distinction between 'autism-like symptoms' and autism," clarified Deirdre Imus in a CNN interview. "Hannah Poling has autism."

Commenting on the live coverage of an Atlanta press conference regarding the recently disclosed government concession in a case involving vaccines and autism, humanitarian and best selling author Deirdre Imus was asked by CNN to discuss what was being reported as an unprecedented decision.

In court documents leaked to the press, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) agreed that "the facts of this case meet the statutory criteria for demonstrating that the vaccinations Hannah Poling 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 read the full article, including links to video news coverage, click here.

Without scientific evidence that it is both safe and effective to repeatedly administer influenza vaccine to children, the members of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices(ACIP) voted yesterday(Feb. 28) to vaccinate all infants and children up to age 18 with influenza vaccine every year. The vote came in the middle of a flu season that has seen widespread outbreaks of type A and type B strains of influenza that were not included in this year's influenza vaccine. A report out of Canada last fall indicated that influenza vaccine strains contained in last year's vaccines appeared to be mutating.

The questionable safety and efficacy of influenza vaccine has been a subject of controversy for decades, despite the insistence by the drug industry and doctors selling the vaccine and government health officials promoting its use that most Americans should get a flu shot every year. Often public health officials at the World Health Organization (WHO) and in the U.S. fail to choose the right influenza strains for the vaccine.

In the past few years, comprehensive reviews of influenza vaccine studies published in the medical literature revealed a stunning lack of scientific support for the safety and effectiveness of giving influenza vaccine to not only children but also to the elderly.

The truth is that (1) only 20 percent of all respiratory flu-like illness in a normal flu season is, in fact influenza, and misdiagnosis often occurs; (2) the CDC has never provided published documentation that 36,000 Americans die from actual influenza every year versus respiratory illness that looks like influenza but is not; (3) there is little scientific evidence that influenza vaccine works or is safe for anyone; (4) government policies targeting all infants and children for annual flu vaccination may well endanger the long term health of this and future generations of children by atypically manipulating the immune system with repeated vaccination in an attempt to prevent all natural experience with type A or type B influzenza; and (5) these misguided flu vaccine policies could not only weaken the ability of future generations to experience and successfully heal from a bout with the flu without severe complications or death but also could put pressure on influenza viruses to mutate into more virulent, vaccine resistent forms that will cause future virulent epidemics in populations.

The majority of the American public, including doctors and nurses, refuse to get a flu shot every year despite the millions of dollars spent by the pharmaceutical industry and taxpayer money spent by the CDC to vigorously promote its use. Recently, there have been calls by doctors advocating a cradle to the grave approach to vaccination that would require all 300 million Americans to get an annual flu shot.

The drug companies selling flu vaccine have one goal: making profit on the millions of doses of vaccine produced every year rather than throwing it away because of poor uptake. CDC officials, eager to help the drug companies out, keep issuing ever widening recommendations to qualify more Americans for getting a flu shot. What began as an effort decades ago to protect those over 65 from complications of influenza that can be deadly for the elderly, has become a boondoggle for drug companies selling and doctors making profit on administering influenza vaccine to everyone, including babies, children and adults.

For the past four decades, every time the CDC has recommended a vaccine for "universal use" by children, those "recommendations" are translated into vaccine laws at the state level. Last year, New Jersey became the first state to mandate influenza vaccine for children as a requirement for attending school. Most states now require nearly three dozen doses vaccines that the CDC has "recommended."

The majority of Americans may not want to get a flu shot every year but the time is soon approaching when they will have no choice. Strident calls by vaccine makers, administrators and policymakers for more vaccine mandates and societal punishments for refusing to comply (" No shots - no education, no health insurance, no job) are paving the way for the day when rolling up your sleeve for a flu shot will become as mandatory and punishable as drinking and driving.

Increasingly, the CDC is guilty of endangering the public health, not protecting it. There is no excuse for issuing vaccine policies not supported by scientific data. The only recourse the public has is to change vaccine laws in the states to allow exemptions for conscientious and religious beliefs, as well as widen the medical exemption to allow enlightened doctors to exempt those with health conditions that are not acknowledged by the CDC as a reason for deferring vaccination. If vaccine laws cannot be made more flexible by allowing wider exemptions, then the day will come when the public will have no choice but to work for the repeal of all vaccine laws.

The National Vaccine Information Center remains committed to working to insert vaccine safety and informed consent protections in vaccine laws in America.

At a town hall meeting in Texas, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., declared that "there's strong evidence" that thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative that was once in many childhood vaccines, is responsible for the increased diagnoses of autism in the U.S. -- a position in stark contrast with the view of the medical establishment.

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.

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The Age of Autism is the nation's first daily Web newspaper for the environmental-biomedical community - those who believe autism is an environmentally induced illness, that it is treatable, and that children can recover. For the most part, the major media in the United States aren't interested in that point of view, they won't investigate the causes and possible biomedical treatments of autism independently, and they don't listen to the most important voices - those of the parents. Visit the website at www.ageofautism.com.