The American government has been able to evade taking responsibility for far too long by producing reports claiming thimerosal's safety, or more commonly, that "further investigation" was needed to reach a conclusion.
Dr. Marie McCormick chaired the Institute of Medicine's (IOM) Immunization Safety Review Committee in 2001 and was overheard commenting on how the CDC "...wants us to declare that these things are, well, pretty safe..."(Schulman, 2006). Almost convincing, but not quite.
Perhaps a turning point in the government's scheme was the notorious CDC study in 2000. Tom Verstraeten, the groups top epidemiologist at the time, and two of his collegues conducted a study that displayed a significant link between TCV's and the onset of neurodevelopmental disorders.
Among the horrendous testimony, the panel concluded they:
one, three, and six months of age, the entire category of neurodevelopmental delays, which includes all of these plus a number of other disorders." (Verstraeten et al., 2000)
In light of the adverse report, a secret meeting was held to discuss, and more so, conceal what the group had revealed. This meeting consisted of members of the CDC, FDA, representatives from major drug companies, scientists, and other persons of interest and would soon come to be known as the infamous Simpsonwood meeting.
Dr. Rhodes, a statistician in the National Immunization Program, shed light on the way research is conducted within the government when he said, "... I think some times we make choices too soon in our analyses. We conceptualize the problem very quickly and then everything else kind of depends on those initial choices and we don't always go down other pathways" (Scientific Review of Vaccine Safety Datalink Information, 2000). This validates fears of bias research and explains why thimerosal was accepted for so long.
This meeting is direct proof that something is horribly wrong and the government is more than conscious of the problem, but officials' concerns are not for the millions of stolen lives or shattered dreams.
Dr. Brent summed it up when he said, "The medical/legal findings in this study, causal or not, are horrendous... we are in a bad position from the standpoint of defending any lawsuits if they were initiated and I am concerned" (Scientific Review of Vaccine Safety Datalink Information, 2000).
Concealment attempts even went as far as Verstraeten's original study winding up "lost" and the CDC paying the IOM to conduct a second study to exclude thimerosal as the cause of the disorders.
A sinister disregard for human life was displayed as American officials unleashed a government controlled autism pandemic ashed upon the weakest souls in society.
Officials could be simply negligent, as some claim, but a USA Today analyses shows the reasoning behind the government's methodical procrastination when it came to banning thimerosal from children's vaccines.
Between 1998 and 2000, the FDA held 159 advisory committee meetings and found "At 92% of the meetings, at least one member had a financial conflict of interest. At least one committee member had a financial stake in the topic under review at 146 of 159 ... meetings... At the 102 meetings dealing with the fate of a specific drug, 33% of the experts had a financial conflict" (Pringle, 2006).
The problem lies not in a lack of knowledge, but a surplus of opportunity. As long as there are infectious diseases to be fought, government officials and drug manufacturers will stand united and profit from fears and misfortunes.
The world needs to realize the government does not always, or even half the time, have the public's best interests in mind.
Let us not forget the tragedy known as "Pinks Disease" where millions of infants were scarred or killed before the previously FDA accepted mercury based teething powder, calomel (84.98% mercury Hg), was undeniably proven toxic.
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