http://www.news-leader.com/today/0401-Cleanupvac-52781.html

News-Leader.com Springfield, MO
Published April 1, 2004

Clean up vaccines, mercury foes urge
State Senate considers bill calling for nation's first ban on preservative.

Roy Holand is Sponsor of bill to ban mercury as a preservative in vaccines

By Kathleen O'Dell
News-Leader Staff

Jefferson City — Parents and physicians asked Missouri senators on
Wednesday to make history with the country's first ban on a
mercury-based preservative in childhood vaccines.
Five people testified before the Senate Committee on Aging, Families,
Mental & Public Health on behalf of Springfield Rep. Roy Holand's bill
calling for the ban. It would not become law until January 2006 to give
vaccine makers time to retool.

Public health officials and the Missouri Nurses Association endorsed the
bill after it was changed to allow the state to give vaccine doses with
the preservative if a disease outbreak is pending and thimerosal-free
vaccine doses are unavailable.

Mercury is a known neurotoxin, and national medical groups and
scientists say the mercury-based thimerosal, a preservative still used
in some vaccines, is linked to neurodevelopmental disorders — including
the one of six children diagnosed with such disorders. While many
children expel the mercury through wastes, it accumulates over time in
others and affects brain development, researchers say.

Other national scientific groups refute the studies' conclusion that
there is a link. But they also say that thimerosal should be phased out
of vaccines given to children.

"This is the biggest story of the 21st century," said Dr. Alan Clark of
Carthage, who with his wife, Lujene, are vehemently for the ban. Their
8-year-old son, Devon, is autistic.

Clark, former president of the Greene County Medical Society, said the
society is planning a July symposium in Springfield because physician
members want to learn the science behind the thimerosal controversy.

Lujene Clark said Iowa and Nebraska are considering a similar bill, and
officials in other states have told her, "'We're watching what you're
doing. If you get it through, you'll give us the courage to tackle it
next,'" she said.

Holand's bill calls for telling parents before the vaccine is given if a
particular vial contains thimerosal. That raises concerns among some.

Two physicians testified in opposition, saying they agree mercury
doesn't belong in vaccines, but they're concerned that raising the issue
will scare parents out of immunizing their children.

The result will be a resurgence of childhood illnesses and more
childhood deaths from influenza, said Dr. Robert Harris, a Columbia
pediatrician also with the Department of Infectious Diseases at the
University of Missouri School of Medicine.

About 135 Missouri children died last year from flu complications.

Harris said he thinks autism naturally shows up after age 18 months,
coincidentally when children have gotten most of their vaccines.

Sen. Patrick Dougherty, D-St. Louis, referred to one of about a dozen
letters he said he has received opposing the bill, citing studies that
refute the link between thimerosal and autistic behaviors.

Holand, who is also a physician, told committee members that half the
vaccine makers have already stopped adding thimerosal to vaccine. They
did so at the 1999 recommendation of the American Academy of Pediatrics
and the U.S. Public Health Service.

"If half can do it, surely the other half can," Holand said.

Studies show switching to a more acceptable preservative would add about
$1 to the cost of a dose of vaccine.

But thimerosal still exists in the diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis and the
influenza vaccine in multidose vials.

He said there were 3.5 million doses of non-thimerosal vaccine last
year, and he's heard 30 million will be available next year.

"We are here as pro-immunization advocates," said Holand. They want to
make sure the vaccine supply is safe for the children getting it.

The Clarks said they returned this week from four days in Washington,
D.C., discussing the issue with national leaders.

"No science, no link" was a common response, said Alan Clark, "but they
have not looked at all 5,000 (scientific) articles that clearly identify
thimerosal as the cause. Without a doubt, this is a critical issue for
children."

One senator raised the issue of a 2001 government-endorsed study
concluding there was no causal relationship between thimerosal and
autism. Alan Clark quickly referred to a 2003 study by the same groups.
The final report is due in May, he said, "But I listened to all eight
hours of testimony, and I saw nothing to convince me otherwise."

Clark added, "Washington is looking closely at Missouri. They're
impressed with what we're doing here. We have the chance now to make
children safe from these poisons."

The Clarks testified not only as advocates but as parents of an autistic
child whose costs for special health care and education this year alone
will total $50,000. The rise in numbers of children with autism
disorders also place a financial burden on public schools and state
budgets, Lujene Clark said.

Lujene Clark said Devon received 12.5 micrograms of mercury in a vaccine
as an 8-pound newborn — "That's 34 times the limit allowed by the EPA."

He got more mercury in subsequent vaccines between 2 and 18 months old,
at which point they noticed developmental changes, she said. Devon was
diagnosed with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder in first grade,
but after a flu vaccine a year later his symptoms worsened and he was
diagnosed with an autism disorder.

Nixa resident Rita Shreffler, who has two autistic children, also testified.

"This is a common-sense issue," she said. "Mercury has no place in
vaccines."

Contact Kathleen O'Dell at kodell@...