Press Release on Vaccines

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Press Release

 

For Immediate Release

 

Contact:  Bobbie Manning 716-713-6625

 

Historical Move Made By Congressman Dave Weldon 

 

Washington, DC - U.S. Rep. Dave Weldon, M.D. (R-FL) to introduce a bill that

would give responsibility for the nation’s vaccine safety to an independent

agency within the Department of Health and Human Services, removing most vaccine

safety research from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Currently, the

CDC has responsibility for both vaccine safety and promotion, which Weldon

believes has created a conflict of interest. Across the federal government we

have

worked to eliminate similar conflicts of interest, but with regard to

mandatory childhood vaccines we allow this conflict to persist unchecked.

 

The most notorious example of the CDC and its history of manipulating its own

vaccine data is the Simpsonwood, Georgia meeting.  A closed door secret

meeting convened by the CDC in the year 2000, in Simpsonwood, Georgia, after

the

American Academy of Pediatrics recommended in 1999 the removal of thimerosal, a

mercury based preservative, from all childhood vaccines.  

 

Through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, Safeminds, a non-profit

organization which supports research on the potential harmful effects of

mercury and thimerosal, was able to obtain the meeting transcript which clearly

indicated that the CDC recognized the serious danger of the continued use of

thimerosal/mercury in vaccines, even through their own study, however, did not

want to disclose this information to the public and allowed the continued use of

thimerosal  to be injected into infants and children by consistently

manipulating their own data.

 

Dr. Thomas Verstraeten, a CDC Epidemiologist, used the CDC’s internal

database, the Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD), for their own study which showed a

statistically significant relationship between the amount of mercury children

were

receiving through vaccines and neurological disorders.  No matter how he tried

to run the numbers, he wrote, the association “just won't go awayâ€. 

 

The CDC ultimately released a report in which they said thimerosal/mercury in

vaccines had no causal effects.

 

Many private, independent researchers have been denied access to the VSD to

conduct their own studies.  The only private researchers able to receive access

had tremendous difficulty in doing so and their research uncovered the same

horrifying results as Dr. Verstraeten’s original study.

 

“There’s an enormous conflict of interest within the CDC and if we fail to

move vaccine safety out of the CDC, public confidence in the safety of vaccines

will continue to erode,†said Weldon. “This bill will provide the

independence necessary to ensure that vaccine safety research is robust,

unbiased, and

broadly accepted.â€

 

Bobbie Manning, Congressional Liaison for A-CHAMP, a national organization

dedicated to advancing public policy issues for children with neurodevelopmental

disorders, has been invited to participate.  Through grassroots efforts,

A-CHAMP has been very successful in helping vaccine injured children.

 

" This nonsense has continued for long enough.  It is time the power of the

CDC be diminished in the area of vaccine safety studies.  How unbiased can they

be on vaccine safety while promoting these same shots for America's

children? " , states Manning.

 

" We are so thankful for the hard work and dedication of Rep. Dave Weldon and

his office.  He has been very supportive and active in finding fair, honest

answers for our vaccine injured children " , says Amy Carson, Co-Founder of Moms

Against Mercury, a non-profit organization that advocates for safer vaccines.

 

" This is what we needed decades ago, and I for one, am proud that Rep. Weldon

has the courage to stand up and fight for our vaccine injured children " , she

adds.

 

Weldon’s move comes as the Senate considers legislation that reforms the way

the FDA evaluates drug safety issues, but explicitly omits vaccines from

further safety reviews.

 

The press conference will be held Wednesday, July 26, 2006, at 9:00am in US

Capitol Room H-144.

 

www.momsagainstmercury.org