Chemist says mercury linked to autism spike

Rob Zaleski: Chemist says mercury linked to autism spike

By Rob Zaleski
December 16, 2005

Robert...

Flu shots no longer contain any Mercury. Ask any real doctor.

Mark Probert...

I asked the CDC and they said:

"Today, with the exception of some Influenza (flu) vaccines, none of the
vaccines used in the U.S. to protect preschool children against 12
infectious diseases contain thimerosal as a preservative."

JanD...

Take note of the FACT that Mark did NOT have the integrity to correct,
Robert's statement!

just Ed...

"Does the influenza vaccine contain thimerosal?
Yes, the majority of influenza vaccines distributed in the
United States currently contain thimerosal as a preservative."
"Thimerosal contains approximately 49% ethylmercury. "

Mark Probert is correct that mercury is not present in
pediatric vaccines as a result of the advice of the
American Academy of Pediatrics and others.

Why's more, YOU didn't ask, you looked it up. You simply can NOT post
without LYING.

Updated: September 22, 2005

Is influenza vaccine that does not contain thimerosal as a preservative
available this flu season (2005-2006)?

For the 2005-06 flu season, a* limited amount* of influenza vaccine that
does not contain thimerosal as a preservative is available. Sanofi pasteur
estimates that they will produce 6-8 million doses of thimerosal-free
vaccine this year. GlaxoSmithKline projects that they will produce 8 million
doses of preservative-free vaccine for use in people 18 years of age and
over. A minimal number of preservative-free vaccine may be available from
Chiron late in the influenza season. Also, the nasal-spray influenza vaccine
(sold commercially as FluMist®) does not contain any thimerosal and can be
given to healthy people 5 to 49 years of age who are not pregnant.

This is ALL a diversion from what John posted.

Restored:

Rob Zaleski: Chemist says mercury linked to autism spike

By Rob Zaleski
December 16, 2005

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About Rob

Rob Zaleski is a 32-year veteran of the news business. His columns
appear
every Monday and Wednesday in the Communities section.
E-mail Email
Rob

His detractors call him an alarmist.

"They hate me," Mike Wagnitz acknowledged in an interview this week.

But if that's what it takes to get people's attention, hey, call him an

alarmist or anything else you want, Wagnitz said with a laugh.

A senior state chemist, Wagnitz is making health experts uneasy because
of
his public statements urging people to think twice before getting a flu

shot this season. He thinks the shots are especially risky for pregnant

women and young kids.

Why? Because about 95 percent of the doses being distributed this
winter
contain thimerosal, the mercury-based preservative that Wagnitz and
others
believe is responsible for the startling increase in autism cases in
the
United States since the early 1990s.

The federal government says that's hokum, noting that despite years of
study there's no scientific evidence that mercury in vaccines causes
autism. However, as a precaution, the U.S. Public Health Service in the

late 1990s asked manufacturers to start phasing thimerosal out of
childhood
vaccines.

In fact, both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention say flu shots are absolutely essential
for
pregnant women and infants 6 to 23 months old. As for potential risks,
they
claim that the amount of thimerosal in a child's dose is so tiny it
poses
virtually no risk at all - a claim Wagnitz says is "pure propaganda."

Still, health experts admit they have more questions than answers about

autism. As the National Institute of Mental Health noted in its 2005
annual
report on autism to Congress, "There are no effective means to prevent
the
disorder, no fully effective treatment and no cure."

Wagnitz, 52, has been speaking out about the possible link between
vaccines
and autism for several years now, ever since his daughter Josie, now 8,
was
diagnosed with autism in 2001.

To say he was shocked would be a colossal understatement, says Wagnitz,

"because, frankly, I'd never even heard of autism before that. I was
this
trusting person who just did what the doctor told me to do."

Then he began doing some research, and the deeper he dug, the more
troubled
he became. After doing "some simple fifth-grade math," Wagnitz says he
figured out that the amount of mercury in flu shots - 50,000 micrograms
per
liter in the multi-dose vials - is 250 times the amount that's
considered
safe for liquid hazardous waste.

That's when he got mad and began started asking some very pointed
questions. So have a lot of other people - including Robert Kennedy Jr.

who, like Wagnitz, believes that all vaccines should be thimerosal-free

despite the higher costs involved.

They want to know why, according to some scientists, the estimated
number
of cases of autism has increased a mind-boggling 1,500 percent since
1991,
when the number of childhood vaccinations doubled.

And they want to know why one in every 166 children has autism today
compared to one in every 2,500 in 1991.

"The government says they're just doing a better job of noticing it,"
says
Wagnitz. But anyone who's been around autistic kids and knows how loud
and
disruptive they can be finds that extremely hard to believe, he says.

"I mean, like Robert Kennedy Jr. said, 'Missing a kid with autism is
like
missing a train wreck.' So when they say they're doing a better job of
finding them, I say, 'Then where are all the 30-year-olds and
40-year-olds
with autism?'"

Though he certainly doesn't relish the criticism, Wagnitz says his skin
is
"thicker than leather right now" and that he'll continue to speak out
until
all vaccines are thimerosal-free.

"No one wants to talk about my message. All they want to do is destroy
the
messenger," he says. "I mean, liquid waste needs to go to a hazardous
waste
site if it contains more than 200 parts per billion of mercury. So
anyone
with common sense would say you don't want to be injecting people with
250
times more mercury than hazardous waste.

"What more do you need to know?"

Write a letter to the editor.

tctvoice@madison.com
Letter to the editor
Tell us what you think

About Rob

Rob Zaleski is a 32-year veteran of the news business. His columns
appear
every Monday and Wednesday in the Communities section.
E-mail Email
Rob

His detractors call him an alarmist.

"They hate me," Mike Wagnitz acknowledged in an interview this week.

But if that's what it takes to get people's attention, hey, call him an

alarmist or anything else you want, Wagnitz said with a laugh.

A senior state chemist, Wagnitz is making health experts uneasy because
of
his public statements urging people to think twice before getting a flu

shot this season. He thinks the shots are especially risky for pregnant

women and young kids.

Why? Because about 95 percent of the doses being distributed this
winter
contain thimerosal, the mercury-based preservative that Wagnitz and
others
believe is responsible for the startling increase in autism cases in
the
United States since the early 1990s.

The federal government says that's hokum, noting that despite years of
study there's no scientific evidence that mercury in vaccines causes
autism. However, as a precaution, the U.S. Public Health Service in the

late 1990s asked manufacturers to start phasing thimerosal out of
childhood
vaccines.

In fact, both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention say flu shots are absolutely essential
for
pregnant women and infants 6 to 23 months old. As for potential risks,
they
claim that the amount of thimerosal in a child's dose is so tiny it
poses
virtually no risk at all - a claim Wagnitz says is "pure propaganda."

Still, health experts admit they have more questions than answers about

autism. As the National Institute of Mental Health noted in its 2005
annual
report on autism to Congress, "There are no effective means to prevent
the
disorder, no fully effective treatment and no cure."

Wagnitz, 52, has been speaking out about the possible link between
vaccines
and autism for several years now, ever since his daughter Josie, now 8,
was
diagnosed with autism in 2001.

To say he was shocked would be a colossal understatement, says Wagnitz,

"because, frankly, I'd never even heard of autism before that. I was
this
trusting person who just did what the doctor told me to do."

Then he began doing some research, and the deeper he dug, the more
troubled
he became. After doing "some simple fifth-grade math," Wagnitz says he
figured out that the amount of mercury in flu shots - 50,000 micrograms
per
liter in the multi-dose vials - is 250 times the amount that's
considered
safe for liquid hazardous waste.

That's when he got mad and began started asking some very pointed
questions. So have a lot of other people - including Robert Kennedy Jr.

JanD...

Updated: September 14, 2004

Does the influenza vaccine contain thimerosal?

Yes, the majority of influenza vaccines distributed in the United States
currently contain thimerosal as a preservative.

Mark Probert...

Jan, I had already posted:

which covered the issue. Are you obsessed with having the last word?

JanD...

You simply can NOT post without LYING.

Mark Probert...

I was incorrect. I had the wrong URL in the clipboard. This is what I
posted:

Now, are you so obsessed with having the last word?

JanD...

Not obssesed at all.

You STILL have not learned to STOP posting off the top of your head.

Mark Probert...

I see that you had to have the last word. Now, who is obsessed? Hmmm?????

The FACT is, you did NOT post, the above link, *I* did.

You posted:

just Ed...

who, like Wagnitz, believes that all vaccines should be thimerosal-free

despite the higher costs involved.

They want to know why, according to some scientists, the estimated
number
of cases of autism has increased a mind-boggling 1,500 percent since
1991,
when the number of childhood vaccinations doubled.

And they want to know why one in every 166 children has autism today
compared to one in every 2,500 in 1991.

"The government says they're just doing a better job of noticing it,"
says
Wagnitz. But anyone who's been around autistic kids and knows how loud
and
disruptive they can be finds that extremely hard to believe, he says.

"I mean, like Robert Kennedy Jr. said, 'Missing a kid with autism is
like
missing a train wreck.' So when they say they're doing a better job of
finding them, I say, 'Then where are all the 30-year-olds and
40-year-olds
with autism?'"

Though he certainly doesn't relish the criticism, Wagnitz says his skin
is
"thicker than leather right now" and that he'll continue to speak out
until
all vaccines are thimerosal-free.

"No one wants to talk about my message. All they want to do is destroy
the
messenger," he says. "I mean, liquid waste needs to go to a hazardous
waste
site if it contains more than 200 parts per billion of mercury. So
anyone
with common sense would say you don't want to be injecting people with
250
times more mercury than hazardous waste.

"What more do you need to know?"