Medical corruption: Merck lied about vaccines too.

February 9, 2006

Merck memo reveals mercury fears years before public told By Myron Levin Los Angeles Times Excerpts: A memo from Merck shows that, nearly a decade before the first public disclosure, senior executives were concerned that infants were getting an elevated dose of mercury in vaccinations containing a widely

used sterilizing agent. The March 1991 memo, obtained by the Los Angeles Times, said that 6-month-old children who received their shots on schedule would get a mercury dose as much as 87 times higher than guidelines for the maximum daily consumption of mercury from fish. "When viewed in this way, the mercury load appears rather large," said the memo from Dr. Maurice Hilleman, an internationally renowned vaccinologist. It was written to the president of Merck's vaccine division. The memo was prepared at a time when U.S. health authorities were aggressively expanding their immunization schedule by adding five new shots for children in their first six months. Many of these shots, as well as some previously included on the vaccine schedule, contained thimerosal, an anti-bacterial compound that is nearly 50 percent ethyl mercury, a neurotoxin. Federal health officials disclosed for the first time in 1999 that many infants were being exposed to mercury above health guidelines through routine vaccinations. The announcement followed a review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that was described at the time as a first effort to assess the cumulative mercury dose. But the Merck memo shows that at least one major manufacturer was aware of the concern much earlier. "The key issue is whether thimerosal, in the amount given with the vaccine, does or does not constitute a safety hazard," the memo said. "However, perception of hazard may be equally important." Merck officials would not discuss the contents of the memo, citing pending litigation. More than 4,200 claims against Merck and other drug companies have been filed in a special federal tribunal, the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, by parents asserting that

their children suffered autism or other neurodevelopmental disorders from mercury in vaccines. A handful of similar claims are awaiting trial in civil courts. The plaintiffs cite various scientific studies that they say prove the dangers of thimerosal, including at the levels found in vaccines. Please read the entire article at: http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=vaccine09 & date=20050209 & query=vaccine+dangers "Our ideal is not the spirituality that withdraws from life but the conquest of life by the power of the spirit." - Aurobindo.