The following
is NAA's letter to CBS that was faxed to the three numbers below.
Parents, let CBS hear from you. Let's shoot for the record number
of letters received by any single 60 minutes show.
60 Minutes II (General)
- 212.975.9353
Dan Rather, Reporter - 212.975.2019
Josh Howard, Executive Producer - 212.975.2019
Faxes are preferred,
but if you don't have access to a fax machine you can email 60II@cbsnews.com.
Mr. Josh Howard
Executive Producer
60 Minutes Wednesday
524 West 57th St.
New York, NY 10019
October 22, 2004
Dear Mr. Howard:
The October 20th 60
Minutes II segment on vaccines was alarming in its obvious intent
to protect the pharmaceutical industry at the expense of the countless
lives devastated by use of the mercury-based preservative thimerosal.
Along with a growing number of well-credentialed scientists, the
National Autism Association believes that the phenomenal increase
in neurological disorders such as autism and ADHD among America's
children is directly attributable to increased mercury exposure
through vaccines that began in the early 1990's.
In 1991, several vaccines
containing the preservative thimerosal (49.6% ethyl mercury) were
added to the routine pediatric schedule. On the day of birth,
babies were injected with 12.5 micrograms mercury via the Hepatitis
B vaccine. At two, four, and six months, the DTP and Hib vaccines
were often given during the same office visit for a total of 50
mcgs. mercury received in one sitting, an amount considered safe
by the EPA for an adult weighing 1,100 lbs. This consistent overdosing
took its toll on those unable to eliminate the toxin from their
systems.
60 Minutes neglected
to report on the thousands of studies that exist establishing
thimerosal's extreme neurotoxicity, but claims to have located
a plethora of articles confirming the safety of vaccines. We'd
like to see one single study, conducted by those without ties
to the drug companies, proving that it is safe to inject mercury,
the second most toxic substance on earth, into infants and toddlers.
With all of the recent warnings to the public regarding the dangers
of mercury exposure through fish and power plants, how does CBS
reconcile the direct injection of mercury into infants with vaccine
"safety"? Also, in June 2004, CBS reported on the fact
that a new study from Columbia University researcher Mady Hornig
showed that thimerosal injected into mice caused autistic symptoms.
This story directly conflicts with the 60 Minutes segment.
In addition to its
inadequate presentation of thimerosal research, 60 Minutes' treatment
of Andrew Wakefield's work is irresponsibly misleading. Dr. Wakefield
has never advocated that parents not vaccinate their children,
nor has he received compensation for the Lancet study, as CBS
claims. Shortly after the 1998 publication of this study, Dr.
Wakefield disclosed to the Lancet that he had been approached
by parents he later learned were involved in the British MMR lawsuit,
agreed to examine their children, and used funds from the Legal
Aid Board of England for some research expenses. It was only in
2004 that the Lancet and an antagonistic journalist chose to manufacture
a false issue over what they wrongly claimed was nondisclosure.
Dr. Wakefield did not
claim that the MMR causes autism, but suggested that findings
of a new form of intestinal disease among children labeled "autistic"
merited further study. Apparently, public health authorities would
rather bury unpleasant facts to protect established government
programs than address an honest suggestion that discovery of a
new disease manifestation requires investigation. Dr. Wakefield's
more recent discovery of vaccine strain measles virus in the intestinal
lining and cerebrospinal fluid of these same children reinforces
his original urgent but unheeded recommendation for further research
in this area.
Misrepresentations
such as these involving Dr. Wakefield would have been easily corrected
by even the most cursory fact-checking before the CBS broadcast.
Instead of doing its own research, 60 Minutes chose to rely upon
the word of Dr. Paul Offit.
Dr. Offit provides
a perfect example of the collusion that exists between federal
regulatory agencies and drug companies. While serving on the CDC's
Advisory Council on Immunization Practices, Dr. Offit was co-patent
holder with Merck on the rotavirus vaccine, receiving hundreds
of millions of dollars from Merck for his "research",
book deal, and speaking tour.
Blatant conflicts of
interest such as Paul Offit's have created a revolving door between
government and industry leading to a frightening place: a place
where physicians with financial ties to vaccine makers have a
say on which vaccines children are required to receive; a place
where journalists convey to the public exactly what the pharmaceutical
industry and tainted federal agencies tell them to convey; a place
where the phrase "first do no harm" does not apply;
and a place where causing grievous harm to society's most vulnerable
is less important than the profits of the very industry that caused
the harm, less important than the reputations of those within
the CDC and FDA who allowed the harm to occur and who continue
to cover-up the facts
We call upon CBS to
give equal air time to researchers without pharmaceutical ties
who have confirmed the link between mercury in vaccines and neurological
disorders. Mady Hornig, Columbia University; Richard Deth, Northeastern
University, and Boyd Haley, University of Kentucky are just a
few of the renowned scientists who can shed light upon this link.
Perhaps the most troubling
aspect of this under-researched, pharma-friendly segment is its
potential to influence parents of children with diagnoses such
as autism and ADHD, persuading them that mercury exposure had
nothing to do with their children's injuries. There are treatments
available that these parents now may not seek. With one in six
children now needing special education services in this country,
60 Minutes has potentially robbed thousands upon thousands of
children of the medical intervention they desperately need.
Sincerely,
National Autism Association
Board of Directors and Officers
Rita C. Shreffler
Jo Pike
Lori McIlwain
Robert J. Krakow
Scott Bono
Laura Bono
Wendy Fournier
Think Autism. Think
Cure.
One (wo)man with courage makes a majority.---Andrew Jackson
Once you recognize
what is happening, you have a moral obligation to become involved.-
- Dr. Stanley Monteith
Sincerely,
General Vaccine
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