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Also by Annette Fuentes
Autism
in a Needle?
Eli Lilly and Thimerosal
By Annette Fuentes | 11.11.03
Thimerosal is an organic compound that
is 49.6 percent ethylmercury. Eli Lilly
and Co., the Indianapolis-based drug
giant, developed and registered
thimerosal under its trade name
Merthiolate in 1929 and began
marketing it as an antibacterial,
antifungal product. It became the most
widely used preservative in vaccines. Thimerosal cannot be used with
live-cell vaccines, such as MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) or polio,
because it would kill the vaccine. The only research looking into the
safety of thimerosal was done in 1930 by Eli Lilly-sponsored doctors,
who injected it into 22 patients with meningitis. The human experiments
failed to prove that thimerosal was nontoxic. Nonetheless, researchers
H.M. Powell and W.A. Jamieson published a study in September 1931 in
the American Journal of Hygiene that stated thimerosal had a “low order
of toxicity” for humans, without mentioning that the human subjects were
ill and subsequently died. Internal Lilly documents from the time,
however, revealed that the company’s researchers were worried about
Merthiolate’s “burning qualities” when used on the skin. By 1935, Eli
Lilly’s Jameison had further evidence of thimerosal’s toxicity when he
received a letter from a researcher who had injected it into dogs and saw
severe local reactions, leading him to state: “Merthiolate is unsatisfactory
as a preservative for serum intended for use on dogs.”
In the 70 years since thimerosal/Merthiolate was developed, the FDA
never required Eli Lilly to conduct clinical studies of its safety, despite
ample evidence of its toxicity and its highly allergic properties. In fact,
the FDA today still refers to the 1931 Powell and Jameison study on its
Web site as indication of the “safety and effectiveness” of thimerosal
as a
preservative. Thimerosal/Merthiolate was widely used in
over-the-counter products, including ointments, eye drops, nasal sprays
and contact lens solution. In 1998, the FDA finally banned Thimerosal for
use in OTC products—18 years after it began a safety review of
mercury-containing products. It took another year before the CDC and the
FDA would ask manufacturers to remove thimerosal from childhood
vaccines. Eli Lilly stopped making Merthiolate-containing products in the
mid-’80s but still profits from licensing agreements with pharmaceutical
companies around the world.
Eli Lilly faces hundreds of civil lawsuits from parents who blame
thimerosal for their autistic children. But the pharmaceutical giant has
powerful friends in the White House and in Congress. The elder George
Bush sat on Lilly’s board of directors in the 1970s, and White House
Budget Director Mitch Daniels was a Lilly executive. Lilly CEO Sidney
Taurel was named by President George W. Bush to the Homeland
Security Advisory Council. In November 2002, Congress passed a
provision, tucked into a spending measure for homeland security, to
indemnify Eli Lilly from lawsuits and require families to seek
compensation through the federally funded Vaccine Injury Compensation
Program. It was repealed in February 2003 after public outcry. Senate
Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) still hopes to pass a similar bill.
Congressional consideration for Eli Lilly makes sense: In the 2002
election cycle, the company gave more than $1.5 million to federal
candidates, with three quarters to Republicans, making it the
fourth-biggest giver in the pharmaceutical industry, according to the
Center for Responsive Politics. In the current election cycle, the company
already has given close to $230,000 (67 percent to Republicans) to
federal candidates.
Eli Lilly may be determined to avoid liability for thimerosal, but that
doesn’t mean it has abandoned children with neurological problems. This
year, the FDA approved Straterra, a new Eli Lilly drug for the treatment
of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. The irony that Eli Lilly
profits from damaged children is not lost on parent Robert Krakow:
“When Eli Lilly is promoting Straterra on TV, saying up to 10 percent of
children can be helped, you realize what we are up against.”
Annette Fuentes is a New York-based journalist who writes
frequently on health and social policy issues.
A contributing editor of In These Times, she is co-author
with Barbara Ehrenreich of Women in the Global Factory.
READER COMMENTS
Yeah right. Senator Bill Frist is going to bring up a bill to help a drug
company.
All Americans know doctors and legislators work for the public good. And
safeguard the 'common man'
from dastardly diseases and unscrupulous corporations.
Why I'll bet right this very second there's a legislator, a doctor and
a drug company poring over data to
find the next 'cure' and then of course the disease it fixes.
Boy do I feel better already.
Posted by: Chris Stevens on 11.12.03 | 3:55 pm from Peoria, IL
While the medical community continues a collective chorus of denial, not
a single one of them is willing
to address those researchers who have been studying the toxic effects of
thimerosal and knows the
thousands of published articles and studies on this dangerous neurotoxin.
It would seem that the
statements they often present can only be described as both intellectually
and medically dishonest.
While they warn us about consuming 17 micrograms of fish, there is no concern
about injecting infants
and toddlers with a cumulative amount of over 250 micrograms of Thimerosal,
what the National
Institute of Environmental Health Sciences defines as "very toxic by ingestion
and inhalation. Some
physicians suggest the increase in autism is the result of better diagnosis.
There have been at least
three studies that have said this is not the case including one in JAMA.
But let's use a little bit of
common sense here. Do you really think that doctors, psychiatrists, parents
and educators failed to
recognize all those 8, 9, 10 year old kids who flapped their hands wildly,
engaged is odd repetitive
behavior, were severely intellectually challenged and WHO CAN'T TALK ?
And if autism has always been
around, and we are just diagnosing it better, then where are all the adult
autistics? How many of you
40 and 50 year olds grew up with autistic neighbors and classmates? This
epidemic is real, it is huge,
and the CDC knows that thimerosal has caused it. And unfortunately, the
American taxpayers will have
to pay for the lifetime support of these children, estimated to be over
10 million dollars for each child
affected.
For all those MD's who are so confident there is no risk in injecting this
known neurotoxic poison in the
body of child, and believes there is no evidence that the mercury in vaccines
has caused an epidemic
of neurodevelopmental disorders including autism, let me issue any of you
a small challenge. Have
the courage to debate this issue in public, we will be happy to accommodate
any of you.
A truth’s initial commotion is directly proportional to how deeply the
lie was believed…When a
well-packaged web of lies has been sold gradually to the masses over generations,
the truth will seem
utterly preposterous and its speaker, a raving lunatic. --Dresden James
Posted by: Bobbie Manning on 11.12.03 | 8:56 pm from East Amherst, NY
My grandson was perfect until he received 5 immunizations at the same time
3 in one leg and 2 in
another. .We noticed the chsange ie autistic symtoms soon after injections.
.I have been a nurse for31
years and also gspent 2 years giving immunizations as a shot nurse. I know
the vial the vaccine
medicine is in needs to be rooled to distribute all the ingrediants. If
the nurse or medical assistant
gave those injections without rooling vial my grandson got a large dose
of thermosil. This is evident in
the out come of his diagnosis.The clinics, Doctors, nurses and drug manufactures
are to blame and
justice should be done, if these were your children you know how you would
vote on the issues!!
Posted by: Bonnie Acker on 11.14.03 | 1:07 am from Minnesota
I am so upset I didn't check my spelling on previous comment. My point
was, in the physicians desk
reference drug book it states "you can give up to 3-4 vaccines at the same
time." Why would any
nurse or doctor with their knowledge do this???? As a immunization nurse
for 2 years and a nurse for
31 years I know the danger of mixing drugs, for infants and children the
only reason is to save the
insurance company money. I never gave more than 2 vaccines at a time. Injection
sites need to be a
distance away to not mix, also the vial concentrates the thermisol at the
bottom. If not mixed EACH
time a syringe is drawn, a child could get more than a double dose of the
mercury! I've seen nurses
grab a vial out of the fridge and draw a dose without rolling the vial.
We ned to protect the children ,
Therisol is still being use in some clinics. They removed rectal thermometers
from the market due to
danger of mercury poisoning. This is a national crisis!!!
Posted by: Bonnie Acker on 11.14.03 | 1:26 am from Minnesota
As a parent of a mercury poisoned child, I would like to thank you for
this article. It was only 3 years
ago that we discovered this link for the labels of developmental delay,
mental retardation, seizures of
unknown origin, indiopathic migraines, immune dysfunction, hypothyroidism,
and a host of others that
plague our beautiful 18 year old. She is improving on a metal removing
protocol but it has cost us our
link with most of the medical mainframe as they do not acknowledge this
damage. In fact, my
workplace, a large university healthcare entity, is in the midst of vaccinating
hundreds of my coworkers
with the flu vaccine which contains 25 mcg of this neurological toxin without
any thought or effort to
educate about the adverse effects. Sincerely, Mary Brookhart
Posted by: M Brookhart on 11.14.03 | 7:50 am from Iowa City, IA 52240
I think we have been lied to about everything , we all seem to be rather
stupid . And it came from
things like this , the toxic effects of thermosial . And the new drug for
ADHD , Straterra ? Duh !!!
Posted by: Lea Oliver on 11.15.03 | 1:38 pm from Paris , Tn .
Thank you for having the courage to tell the truth. My son was diagnosed
with "Asperger's Syndrome,"
a form of high functioning Autism, at age 3. I later discovered that all
the vaccines(except one)
injected into my son had mercury. He is now 9 and we have completed a year
of chelation with
DMSA/DMPS. DMSA is actual used in mainstream medicine to treat lead poisoning.
After years of trying
different interventions (special diets, supplements, OT, auditory therapy,
vision therapy,speech, etc.)
we saw the most improvement with chelation. Until the media investigates
the many, many cover-ups
with thimerosal will my son and other children have the best medical help
to undo the damage.
Thousands of children each day are still being injected with mercury, a
known neurotoxin. We need
help from the media to stop this devastation. Keep up your courageous efforts.
Thank you.
www.MomsAgainstMercury.com
Posted by: Angela Medlin on 11.15.03 | 3:35 pm from Cary, NC
This is one of the most honest articles I have read in along time. As a
parent of a Mercury Toxic child
by Thimerosal in vaccines, I have to thank you for having the courage to
publish the truth. The media
is the only other entity that is more powerful than the pharmaceutical
companies. We need you on our
side. www.momsagainstmercury.com
Posted by: Amy Carson on 11.15.03 | 6:53 pm from Leicester, NC
I am glad to finally read an article that exposes Eli Lilly for what it
is. A company who achieves profits
at any expense. Our children deserve better than our government aiding
and abetting criminal
companies. I wonder how Senator Frist and President Bush would feel about
Eli Lilly if it were their
children being harmed instead of their pockets being lined. Who do they
think they are kidding?
Posted by: Karey Williams on 11.16.03 | 7:08 pm from Glenview, IL
Comparing the various hypotheses, including mercury, MMR, "refrigerator
mother" etc. against the
recent profound increase of immgration to areas high in arctic European
ancestry (probably Finnish
and/or Saami ancestry) -- and doing so via the same methodology (looking
at by-State statistics
related to these hypotheses) -- it is apparent that immigration is importing
some sort of pathogenic
influence to which the immigrants are immune but to which people of arctic
European ancestry are quite
susceptible.
See:
http://laboratoryofthestates.com/imbamcoa.html
Sorry -- the mercury hypothesis just did seem to stack up when I ran the
numbers. The only thing that
may mitigate in its favor at this point is the appearance of an anomalous
linear relationship inside an
otherwise uncorrelated cluster of points. This could be a randomly arising
feature but if not it may
relate to some sort of more-accurate measurement technique that is applied
in only a minority of
States -- if mercury is in fact causing the problem.
Posted by: James Bowery on 11.16.03 | 11:17 pm from Washington
I loath the statement suggesting that immigration should be to blame for
introducing pathogens.
Looking at the infinite percentage rise of autism throughout the country,
one would have to be in
complete denial of the thimerosal link. That or simply not eduated at all
on mercury toxicology.
EVERYONE KNOWS there is a danger to the mercury level in the human body.
All you have to do is look
at the list of ingredients in every vaccine (especially the thimerosal).
35 micrograms kills a rabbit. But
guess what, infants are getting more 35 mg when calculating in the hepatits
b vaccine before six
months of age! 25 mg in the flu shot for adults and 25 mg in the flu shot
for children. an adult
averaging 110 pounds should only be consuming 5 ACCORDING TO CDC. While
this is over 5 times the
allowed amount for the adults, calculate the insane amount for a 40 pound
child!!!!!
Immigrants may be importanting some pathogens but the vaccines are what's
infecting the population.
Immigrants are easily immune to pathogens because their immune systems
are not compormised by
thimerosal, alumunim hydroxide and other adjuvants in vaccines. Can anyone
not see the logic in
that? Compromise your immune system and you really shouldn't expect anything
but it's lack of
function!
There's NO SUCH THING as a safe vaccine. Vaccines didn't eliminate diseases
from the human race
either. If they did, why the heck are kids still getting vaccinated? And
is it any wonder that according to
Dr. Torches study on SIDS (involving 103) infants, over 2/3 were fully
vaccinated. Deaths accured 1-6
months with 2-4 being the peak point. These are times of polio, hib, DTP..etc
vaccinations.
Coincidence? I DON'T THINK SO. Before asking for safe vaccines and or denying
adjuvants, such as
thimerosal, had anything to do with autism, SIDS...ETC. do your research
so you at least look like you
know what you're talking about (James B).
Posted by: Kimberley Medlin on 11.21.03 | 1:21 pm from Prescott, AZ
Can someone explain how Eli Lily determined that thimerosal is safe, when
the 22 subjects used in the
trial of it died? Determined that it was safe to inject into infants. Thank
you for writing the article. I
have a son that suffered many complications after a "routine" round of
shots, and all denied vaccine
relation, even though it happened directly after his vaccines, and no other
cause has been found. We
will never allow another vaccine near any of our 5 children!!
Posted by: Christine Ewton on 11.23.03 | 3:07 pm from Florida
Hello, I am also a parent of a child how slipped into this thing called
autism. I prefer to say that my
son is mercury injured. He was born normal and met all developmental stages,
and then all of a
sudden he slowly lost his speech, and spiraled downhill in communication.
Our government should be
ashamed of themselves protecting the companies that have created the most
biggest scandel in
medical history. I feel upset because I notice on the latino stations,
and information on the net are
not available to the latino community. They want to keep as many people
as possible in the dark
about this serious issue. I was one of those people that didnt know. I
want to thank you for writing
about this terrible problem. There should be more journalist like you.
I definitely feel that the latino
community should be informed more about this. I tried to send information
to the univision station,
but to my surprize, there is no contact information whatsoever there. That
is really strange. Telemundo
does have contact information. I sent them a letter concerning this issue.
Well, once again, thanks.
Posted by: Deborah Adames on 11.27.03 | 9:56 pm from New Jersey
To those parents who think that we need the media to expose this cover
up... sorry to say... they are
part of it. Sir Christopher Hogg is CEO of GlaxoSmithKline and also a "non-executive
chairman" of
Reuters News... a major "news feed" for other news agencies. I highly doubt
that there will be much
"bad press" for the pharmaceuticals any time soon given the very influencial
role of this man in both
industries as well as the very influencial role of our President (whose
father sat on the Eli Lilly Board of
Directors) and all the Eli Lilly execs so closely tied to Bush Jr.. Note
that Rumsfeld was also CEO for
Searle.. another pharmaceutical. So, I don't expect to see any truth coming
out of the media or the
government on these issues. And by the way, Alzheimer's and schizophrenia
also very much appear to
play into this. All three disorders - autism, Alzheimer's and schizophrenia
basically originated in the
same clinic. Autism used to be called "childhood schizophrenia". Schizophrenia
(discovered by Emil
Kraepelin) used to be called "dementia praecox". And amazingly, Alzheimer's
was called "dementia
praecox" too... not to mention the fact that Alois Alzheimer's was the
young protege of Emil Kraepelin
and that they certainly appeared to have "agreed to call these disorders
something different" based on
age of onset. Much more on all this on my website for those who are interested.
http://www.autismhelpforyou.com
Posted by: Jeanne A. Brohart on 11.30.03 | 8:06 pm from
At last! Someone has put all of these facts together on paper. It will
save me from having to state or
type, over and over, my reasons for protesting the Frist provision in the
Homeland Security Bill.
I've never seen a more comprehensive article on this subject. Your publication
and Ms. Fuentes are to
be commended!
Posted by: Christine Cutie on 12.16.03 | 9:22 am from CT
|