I first heard about the Frontline episode on “The Vaccine War“, it was from supporters of Jenny McCarthy. They were online telling us all about this upcoming episode and even providing links to where we could order the DVD.
Times have changed.
The show aired and it was not about how Jenny McCarthy and the rest are right and that vaccines cause autism. Jim Carrey had made a statement a while back, “We aren’t the problem. The problem is the problem.” Aside from the fact that it is a very strange way to phrase what he wanted to say, Frontline showed that, yes, indeed, you are the problem.
The night that The Vaccine War aired, Dr. Jay Gordon (Jenny McCarthy’s pediatrician) blogged about how his interview was left out. Jenny McCarthy followed shortly afterwards. Both were on the Huffington Post. Dr. Rashid Buttar was also interviewed and not shown. He took to a free press release to express his opinion.
Since then, many people have been claiming that Frontline should have given more time and weight to the vaccine-causation side. I guess representatives from a “Parent Founded, Parent Led” organization are not enough weight. They need the opinions of some doctors. As Kim at the Countering Age of Autism blog points out, the Age of Autism blog put their piece complaining about Frontline twice. AoA just changed the title and a bit of the introduction.
The editors of the Frontline episode have responded to the criticisms that some interviews were not aired:
Many thanks for your feedback on the program. FRONTLINE went to considerable lengths to include a wide range of viewpoints, even in the face of very strong scientific evidence against the hypothesized autism link to MMR and thimerosal. Despite the consistent negative epidemiology and the definitive verdict of the federal vaccine court, we included views from people who wanted more and different studies. The program also gave a great deal of time to the arguments of vaccine hesitant parents who think the CDC schedule is bloated. The companion FRONTLINE website contains full interviews with different stakeholders, including Dr Robert Sears, who promotes an alternative spread out vaccine schedule. The website also hosts a robust public conversation where a full range of viewpoints are being aired and engaged.
When making long form documentaries like FRONTLINE, it often happens that some interviews don’t make it into the finished program. Several interviews failed to make the final cut of “The Vaccine War”–not just yours but also interviews with contributors who support the CDC vaccine schedule.
One interview which did not air was that of Arthur Allen. He has commented on a few blogs. Not complaining about his interview being cut, but about people like Dr. Jay who don’t understand that in journalism these things happen. Interviews get cut.
That all said, let’s consider the argument that Frontline should have aired more of the vaccine-skeptic viewpoint. That people like Rashid Buttar should have been given more air time. Dr. Buttar, who was recently reprimanded by his state’s regulatory agency. Dr. Buttar who has used urine injections on autistic children.
For those who would like to have seen more of the opinions of such doctors, consider if Frontline does another episode entirely. This time, instead of “the Vaccine War”, they consider a show on “Curing Autism”, showing alternative medical practitioners.
I bet at this point many in the biomed community are saying, “yes!”
I put it to them that they didn’t learn their lesson. There is no good evidence behind the alternative medicine used in autism. Just like they thought that “The Vaccine War” was going to finally tell their story, another Frontline episode would not go their way. Yeah, it would tell their story, just as The Vaccine War did.
Let me put it another way. Think of two short words….Trine Tsuderos. I could have just as easily said Pat Callahan, as she worked with Ms. Tsuderos on the articles at the Chicago Tribune, but somehow it is Trine who gets the attention. It is her name that calls up the memories.
For those asking “Trine who?”, Ms. Tsuderos and Ms. Callahan wrote a series of articles for the Chicago Tribune. One article should give you an idea of how that series went: Autism treatments: Risky alternative therapies have little basis in science.
You see, the team of Callahan and Tsuderos took a look at alternative therapies and gave some balance–they asked the experts in areas such as neuroinflammation in autistics whether the alt-med practitioners were correctly applying the science. They weren’t.
So imagine if you will, Fronline putting Dr. Jay, Dr. Bob, Dr. Buttar’s interviews on the air. Together with Dr. Geier and his “lupron protocol”. Together with Prof. Boyd Haley and his industrial chelator turned nutritional supplement. Together with people “treating” neuroinflammation before they know whether it is harmful or beneficial.
Consider that team. Then consider the responses from experts in medical toxicology. Experts in neuroinflammation. Experts in hormones and autism.
Consider how that would play out before the American public.
It would not go well for the alternative medical community. Not because of any bias, but because their “science” is woefully poor.
Left Brain Right Brain 
Well said. Of course, the supporters of these practitioners would just insist that it was a biased presentation, short of the media doing anything but providing ringing endorsements of them.
Kim,
even People Magazine is running stories like “Autism & Vaccines False Alarm”
http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20350752,00.html
Reader’s digest as well.
The people calling for Frontline to tell their stories are not really aware of how unconvincing their stories are.
May God Bless each and every one of you disbelievers out there with an autistic child! In desperation (God forbid) YOU may buy into Jenny McCarthy’s “hype,” so YOU buy her book, YOU then take your autistic child to a highly recommended DAN! doctor, who (gasp) has all his credentials (MD, FAAP), and then you implement the “non-scientific mumbo-jumbo” and (gasp) slowly but surely your child gets better! Hey! Your child then gets to go to a REGULAR Kindergarten in the Fall! Oh my God! What did I do to get him better? Vitamins (gasp), B12 shots (gasp), curing horrible gut dysfunction that the “regular” pediatrician called “toddler’s diarrhea? One day we will look back and KNOW. . . . EVERYONE will KNOW what we did to our kids! Children should be screened to see if their immune system is compromised before undergoing EIGHT vaccines at six weeks of age! My boy’s immune system is compromised, but it is getting stronger each day. My boy is FULLY immunized and after each vaccine had a reaction that was (miraculously) attributed to some other cause and never reported to the VAERS. Doesn’t anyone remember once upon a time cigarettes weren’t considered hazardous to your health? Jenny is brave and will go down as a hero one day for her work, even as she is crucified by the press and naysayers. May God Bless you with a personal challenge so you may know the truth and see it WORK with your own two eyes!
MomOfThree,
check back tomorrow and read another parent’s tale of taking their child to an “alternative” doctor.
Also, read Colin G for a good comment on the tobacco analogy.
“Doesn’t anyone remember once upon a time cigarettes weren’t considered hazardous to your health?”
Yes, and then some scientists provided some EVIDENCE.
Why does all the credible data show no link?
Why are we still wasting our energy arguing with these people?
Why don’t they listen to the facts?
[facepalm]
MomofThree
You may yell loudly that that your kid will attend regular kindergarten, and you are sure it is because of biomed treatments. Ok, so prove it. Why don’t you enroll your child in this study:
http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00938054?term=autism&rank=12
Come on, show us all up when your kid proves to the world how biomed really works.
The other thing you might want to consider is that very few parents are climbing on the biomed treatment bandwagon (except for the GFCF and other diets). Less than 1% have tried other things.
http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/638630.html
I guess that the word of mouth isn’t that great after all. Even more reason for you to enroll your miracle child in the study I mentioned above.
I have yet to meet a strictly-biomed child who successfully went to regular kindergarten. Inclusion, yes. “Regular”, no.
I am still waiting to see any credible data that disproves a link between vaccines and autism. In particular it is absurd to say that MMR and Thimerosal are in the clear when the facts suggest that there are no unvaccinated autistic people.
I get offensive remarks about peddling this stuff but no one comes forward to point to clear evidence that autism exists in unvaccinated groups. In the UK twelve years of continuous searching for autistic people in Britain’s unvaccinated population of not less than 2 millions and perhaps three millions (born since 1966 and recorded by the Health Protection Agency) has failed miserably. A handful of mostly dubious claims have been put forward. Where are the one in a hundred or so that would amount to tens of thousands? They are just not there! And it means that our goverment’s claim that vaccination is neutral to autism is nonsense.
Tony Bateson, Oxford, UK.
I’m still waiting for credible evidence to support a link between vaccines and autism.
Mr Bateson, you are a lesser Dan Olmsted.
Actually, you have been given lots of data refuting the link. The problem is that your mind is welded shut, and you refuse to let in data that refutes your beliefs.
During your meanderings in the blogosphere you have been given several cases of unvaccinated autistic persons (including Kim Stagliano’s youngest daughter), yet you still persist that you have not found any unvaxed austistic persons.
In short, Mr. Bateson, this leaves two conclusions on the nature of your demeanor. You are either:
1) A liar.
2) Incredibly stupid.
Choose one.
Anybody who wants to shout down those parents of autistc children is invited to walk in their shoes for just one day. I don’t have an autistic child, my son is merely mentally handicapped. He was put into a wheelchair by professors. Where was their science? Erik does not talk. Would he be different if the socalled scientific community had guessed right? I am so tired of bombastic know-it-alls who have not read a single study by the Geiers or Boyd Haley or Shahid Buttar. Who are you who gets pleasure out of lambasting those who stick out their necks and risk their careers to try something that make those children and parents feel better. Go to school. Learn that science is out there. Actually read a book about mercury. Read the lack of scientific thoroughness in the often cited studies (the Danish one in particular, and also the American one that lacks so in method). What motives are behind your ranting? The parents of autistic children have a right and a motive. Where is yours?
Birgit Calhoun,
I have read the “studies” by the Geiers, Boyd Haley and many others. Those studies are precisely why I write. If you can read a study by the Geiers and claim others have a “lack of scientific thoroughness”, I wish you well.
As the parent of an autistic child, I have–your own words–a right and a motive to speak out.
Well for those idiots whose only skill is to call others morons perhaps I can invite you to consider something else. How come the so called scientific community knows enough about a million or so kids who are autistic to be able to reject any link with vaccines and yet knows nothing, or wants to, about unvaccinated kids who number, in the UK at least five times the number of autistic people in the country. This unvaccinated group is ignored because the numbers are said to be insignificant. The Head of UK vaccines policy repeated this stuff to me only a month or two ago without seeing the unconscious irony in that.
For those who keep going on about ‘you’ve been given the evidence’ this is simply rubbish, whereas there should be thousands they mention one name here or there. It’s not science as I say its simple arithmetic (or math as you say in the USA).
Lastly why has the mainstream press in the UK not mentioned a single word about the disappearance of the foremost rejectionist of vaccine harm, Dr Thoresen, with $two millions of US Government funds? Is there any effort to find him? is he as difficult to find as AlQuaeda villains?
Tony Bateson, Oxford, UK.
Tony Bateson,
I would suggest you re-read your comment and take the opportunity to apologize. You berate people for the term “morons” while using the term “idiots” in the very same sentence.
Both are terms previously used to classify various stages of severity in intellectual disability. Both are rude and insensitive for exactly the same reason.
Sullivan,
You are entitled to your opinion. Unfortunately it is difficult to do actual studies on humans. It might be injurious to their health. But I would think you, as a parent of an autistic child, might be more accepting of the frustrations of others. They are all looking for an answer, just like you. Also, unfortunately many independent variables change outcomes in people. Mercury is a difficult substance. Moreover, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Mercury is an insidious toxin. I want mercury preservatives kept out of my vaccines, autism or not. Please, respect it. Have you had your and your child’s Vitamin D levels checked lately? Vitamin D is connected to autism, too. Birgit
Birgit Calhoun,
I am very accepting of the frustrations of others. I am not so accepting of misinformation spread by others. Generation Rescue, for example, is a major source. Mr. Bateson is a good source of misinformation. I can acknowledge their frustration while still disagreeing with them and pointing out their flawed logic.
You appeared on this blog with flawed logic. You assumed that since I disagree with the vaccine-causation groups, I must not be an autism parent.
You also talk about a Danish researcher who “absconded with two million dollars”. Could you provide real information, from primary sources, that would support that idea? In specific, please find some support for the idea that he took possession of money and left with it.
If you can find that, you will have done more than I–as well as the bloggers whom you read to get that information.
Tony Bateson,
Thank you for your comment. I agree with you. Science in this country seems to be paved with pharmaceutical, dental and medical lobby dollars. Only some of us who have actually kept track of the thin gray line of mercury and “have read” the “Danish study” that supposedly proves that vaccines are harmless know about Dr. Poul Thorsen. He’s the Danish researcher who absconded with two million dollars. The “PR-Offit” motive is alive and well. Birgit
Birgit,
Yes, it is difficult and expensive to do a proper study on humans. However, there has been quite a lot of work done to look at the favorite biomed treatments for autism.
For example, for the GFCF diet, a recent review of more than 15 studies shows no effect on autism:
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2010/05/gluten_autism.html
For Houston enzymes, no effect on autistic symptoms was found:
google for PMID: 20204691
Mercury in childhood vaccines is well below the levels received by children in the 1980’s (even including flu shots) yet the autism rates have not decreased.
Of course parents are looking for answers. But they should not inflict “treatments” on their children that are ineffective, potentially dangerous, and waste money. Many parents have spent thousands of dollars on biomedical treatments. The “treating” doctors have a huge conflict of interest in keeping them coming back for more. Talk about your profit motive!
Which you apparently are unfamiliar with, Tony. The prevalence of autism is 1%. You claim the prevalence of complete lack of vaccination is higher, but you have no support for this assertion. I claim it has to be similar to that of the US, i.e. about 0.3%.
To get the prevalence of both circumstances combined, you must multiply the figures.
What motives are behind your ranting? The parents of autistic children have a right and a motive. Where is yours?
I am autist. So my motive to rant is the assumption that I am only valued if I am “fixed”
Why don’t you try walking in an autist’s shoes ma’am.
Broken Link,
Nobody is inflicting anything on anybody. The buyer beware logic ought to always prevail. Common sense is a good thing to use. It is also a problem when parents of autistic children believe in miracles. Many times improvement comes very slowly, or depending on the type of autism, not at all. Believing blindly that something works is not good. As long as the definition of autism–without a test nor real consensus of what autism is–is as hazy as it is, one can only hope that something works. In fact there are some things that work for kids with autism and some that don’t. — My motive is: “I want mercury preservatives out of vaccines.” Birgit
Birgit wrote: “Nobody is inflicting anything on anybody”.
I think the children strapped down and forced to undergo hours of IV chelation would beg to differ.
Also, the child undergoing Lupron treatment:
“Yesterday, we gave Randi her second Depo shot (intramuscularly, with the big, 2-inch needle) in her buttocks. We did this one while she was awake, by holding her down while she lay on her belly. We were able to hold her still for the injection by sitting/straddling her back, while my wife held her legs still. This was necessary to keep her from moving around too much, which would bend the needle”
or the children subjected to huge numbers of blood draws:
http://www.neurodiversity.com/weblog/article/110/
Or how about Wakefield’s colonoscopies – I bet those kids really enjoyed those.
And Birgit – mercury preservatives ARE out of vaccines. The only shots in the US with mercury are some flu shots. Flu shots are optional, and are also available in mercury-free versions.
I think you might need a new motive.
The child is not usually able to decide whether he/she will be “treated”. So, while that logic “ought to prevail” it doesn’t even have a chance to prevail in this instance.
I would beg to differ. One can hope–and work towards–not injuring the autistic child.
That is the main complaint I have with much of the alternative medicine applied towards autism: safety. Safety isn’t proven for much of what is tried.
“Buyer beware” is clearly insufficient. That’s why regulations exist. That’s why there are laws on advertising and so on.
Broken Link,
I don’t mean it the way you make things sound. If parents think their doctor is right, then I presume they have weighed the options carefully. I have experience with what you are describing. The treatments my son received were done by university professors who had an uncanny ability to inflict pain with treatemnt that made things worse. This had nothing to do with autism. It had to do with mis-diagnosis. The doctors put my son into a wheelchair for the rest of his life. My son is in kidney failure, and he is permanently attached to a catheter coming from his abdomen. My son doesn’t talk, and he has not been diagnosed as being autistic. He probably got his kidney failure from mercury poisoning. That’s why I dislike mercury. I want vaccines (any vaccine) to be preserved with something other than Thimerosal. Mercury does not belong injected. Birgit
I love how Birget completely ignored my response. It really drives my point.
Can I haz fistbump guise?
Birgit,
I’m very sorry that your son has kidney failure and is in a wheelchair. But I’m confused about why you think his kidney failure is caused by mercury.
I am glad you ask. Mercury causes kidney damage. That is the first thing it does, and you most likely won’t know it unless the damage is severe enough that your kidney shuts down. Mercury can kill that way. Tycho Brahe who was a famous Danish scientist most likely died of kidney failure in 1601. Some say he was poisoned. The scientists in those days used mercury more than casually. Birgit
Joseph,
That might work for you in England. Here in the United States there is a lot be desired on that account. Birgit
Mom of Three, what training do DAN! doctors have treating autism? Also, why are non-physicians allowed to become DAN!s? If your child ‘got better’, then you should absolutely enrol in the aforementioned study. Also, why don’t your ‘highly recommended’ DAN! doctors and ARI ever do any peer-reviewed studies examining this recovered phenomenon?
“I am glad you ask.”
As am I, it’s good to come across a parent who is willing to talk about the evidence behind thier case.
I look forward to you presenting it. Whilst we wait for you to answer to Broken Links’ question, I would like to say that your brief and simplified recap of kidney dysfunction in mercury poisoning was interesting, but is kinda superflous on this website.
Whenever there’s kidney damage, is mercury poisoning the most likely cause, or even a likely cause?
The fact is that mercury poisoning in rarely listed as a cause, isn’t it? Presumably that’s because it’s an exceedingly unlikely cause of kidney damage, and because there are other signs of mercury poisoning, such as pink hands and feet.
I think it’s a tad imprudent to simply assume “mercury poisoning” (because that’s what you like, politically) in lieu of more likely explanations.
What’s up with the Autism Hub?
Joseph,
Kidney damage can be caused by any number of things. Mercury is one of them, and it does cause kidney damage without fail. No, I am not assuming anything. I am not imprudent. I didn’t know much about mercury until I became interested in it about 10 years ago. The internet helped a lot in my finding out about solving my other son’s depression. If you want to know more you may Google my name. I have a web page because of the surprising answers I got from Googling. Birgit
At what dosage does the mercury cause kidney damage? Please provide documentation with your evidence that the level in vaccines (trace, if that) can cause kidney damage. Thank you.
Chris,
I only know about mercury, i.e. all forms of mercury. Since the vaccine manufacturers have not done any meaningful drug trials on vaccines with Thimerosal, proof of that has to be derived from what is known about Thimerosal (or Merthiolate as it used to be called). There have been several babies’ deaths after it was applied topically as an antiseptic about 40 years ago. You may know that Thimerosal use in vaccines was grandfathered in because it was already used before any regulations regarding drug trials existed. Mercury used to be used as medicine for all kinds of things from syphilis to babies’ teething powder (it caused Pink Disease) to diuretics to salves for swollen joints and many more. All of those uses have been discontinued. If you want to know more, read my web page. It can be Googled under my name. Birgit
Birgit Calhoun,
I’ve seen your webpage. I’ve seen all that information before. They are the standard talking points. It isn’t convincing, that’s the problem. I guess that Thompson (2007) doesn’t count as “meaningful” in terms of a study on thimerosal in vaccines?
Pretty much all these talking points were covered in the autism omnibus proceeding (the vaccine court). Yes, at high doses, mercury is toxic. The questions discussed (at length) on this blog over the years are (a) whether at any dose mercury causes autism (answer: no) and (b) whether at the doses in vaccines there is any indication of harm (answer: no).
Chris put forth a very good question and you haven’t answered it–at what dosage does mercury cause kidney damage?
Let me answer that by asking the question: At what dosis does smoke cause lung cancer? Birgit
Birgit,
I am not an expert on tobacco. You are setting yourself up as an expert of sorts on mercury. So, no. I don’t think answering a direct question with a question is appropriate.
At what dosage does mercury as thimerosal cause kidney damage?
Birgit
Cancer and kidney damage are two completely different processes. You can get cancer even when you have no exposure to specific carcinogens, just from the background radiation we all experience.
Kidney damage, on the other hand, can occur from things that the body handles every day, if you get too much of it. If you overwhelm your kidneys with protein, it can cause damage. But at appropriate levels, the kidney handles protein as it is supposed to. The kidney routinely handles the excretion of minerals. So the question remains, how much ethylmercury can cause damage in kidneys? Further, why do you suspect that your child’s kidney damage is mercury-related?
There must be a dosage of tobacco that is basically harmless. But the issue is a little different. Even if a smoker is smoking only 1 cigarette a day, that’s still 365 cigarettes a year, and it gets into the thousands in only 3 years.
Maybe if you get one TCV every day for years, that might be a problem, but that’s not what we’re talking about.
http://www.mercurysafety.co.uk/hlthinfo.htm
This seems promising, but I can’t find the exact dose on which Mercury causes Kidney Failure and neither does Birgt.
Yes, zero mercury is harmless. Mercury works by attaching itself to enzymes and other molecules. It works synergistically with lead and becomes more toxic with certain antibiotics. There is no safe level of mercury because mercury accumulates in the body. If it goes to the brain as organic mercury, it becomes inorganic mercury and takes about 20 years to be excreted. There are many sources where you can check this information. Birgit
Someone asked me to apologise for calling people idiots. It is obvious that I said anyone who calls others morons or stupid, is an idiot of the top rank.
I cannot believe much of what I read about the various comments about mercury, at what dose is it damaging etc?, how do you know your child had mercury in his/her vaccination etc? The case against using mercury at any level is surely surely beyond debate.
Don’t people know that the world’s last mercury mine was closed in Krgystan or wherever last year at the request of the international community because the amount of mercury in circulation was a growing threat to health worldwide. All future uses of mercury will be based upon recycled material. For every medic/researcher who says that controlled use of mercury is harmless there is another who says that there is no safe level at which mercury can be used especially in tiny infants. The number of Ministers of Health who have been invited to subject themselves to baby sized doses of mercury-containing vaccinations is somewhat large, I have yet to hear of anyone accepting this invitation.
Tony Bateson, Oxford, UK.
Tony Bateson,
Did you misunderstand the reason why “idiot” is inappropriate here? That is a rhetorical question as your comments here are no longer welcome.
@Birgit: guess what? It is dose related, however, not everyone who smokes gets lung cancer. You are MORE LIKELY to get lung cancer the more you smoke, but it is not a certainty.
So, at what dosage does mercury cause kidney damage? If merthiolate/thimerosol was so dangerous, my siblings and I would be autistic (the genes run in the family); we used to slop it on any open cuts and would also use it just for fun to “paint tattoos” on each other. We are all also fully immunized (oh noes! More mercury!) And the mertiolate was not age dependent; my parents used it on us at ANY age, for ANY injury.
Besides, not all forms of mercury are alike, nor are they as deadly as you seem to think. My siblings and I also played with mercury from broken thermometers, we ate a lot of fish as children and adults, and none of us are autistic, kidney diseased, or dead. We have birthed healthy children who are all also fully immunized and not autistic.
Mercury fail.
@Brigit: Do you realize that mercury is entering your system every single day, and there’s nothing you can do about it?
It’s not exactly true that mercury just accumulates in the body.
Tony Bateson,
Thank you for your comments. I sometimes fell like Don Quixote. Birgit
Birgit Calhoun,
Don Quixote? The noble, yet delusional man who fought against technology?
Birgit,
Mercury, specifically organic mercury, is in many foods (not just fish). It’s in detectable levels in infant formula and in breast milk. It’s in bread and chocolate. Children will get much more mercury from their diet than they do from vaccination, even in the old days when there was substantial (microgram) quantities of mercury in vaccines.
PMID: 16307830
You can’t live on planet earth and avoid mercury. If your child was hyper-sensitive to mercury, and unable to excrete the mercury from his diet from his body, then he’d be dead of mercury poisoning by now.
Birgit, are you even going to attempt to answer the question? I did not ask about what happened years ago. I do know about Pink’s Disease, and it is nothing to do with autism. I asked specifically about the trace amount of thimerosal in vaccines.
Just point us to the research that shows that the trace amount of thimerosal left in vaccines can cause kidney damage. And it must be real scientific research, not a random website or news article. You made the claim, now show your evidence.
Argument by assertion is not sufficient.
Birgit,
But we’re not talking about mercury accumulating over a prolonged period of time here, are we? You are claiming that mercury (presumably from shots) caused kidney damage in your child over a short period of time. The question remains, how much mercury can actually cause kidney failure in a child? There is not credible data to suggest that the small amount of ethylmercury contained in shots can make such a dramatic change in renal function.
Then again, we don’t know your child’s story, maybe you are asserting that mercury from other sources caused your child’s problem. Nonetheless, you still should be accountable to using facts when you assert that thimerosal containing vaccines causes other problems, especially autism.
Orange Lantern,
Yes we are. The details about what is known about mercury are numerous and can be found in any book about mercury. Leonard J. Goldwater’s “Mercury: A History of Quicksilver,” (York Press, Baltimore, 1972) is a good first read. Mercury is an interesting subject and is not explained by one or the other source. You need to know what it does, to understand how it damages anybody or any organ. Birgit
@Brigit: (How can I put this politely?) You are not really answering any questions. You’re simply telling us that mercury can be very toxic. We’re aware of that.
OK. Other than the fact that considerable mercury poisoning can probably lead to kidney damage, what reasons do you have for believing that your child was mercury poisoned, and for ruling out other possible causes of kidney damage?
Birgit, how is a book written in 1972 supposed to show that the trace amount of thimersal in vaccines since 2001 can cause kidney damage? There is no way, other than time travel, for it to contain the research based evidence I asked for. Take note of what my question was: “Please provide documentation with your evidence that the level in vaccines (trace, if that) can cause kidney damage”.
Try answering the question with the specific dosage that is required. Give us a number, tell us where you got it from, and then compare it to the amount in the present pediatric vaccine schedule.
I repeat, you made a claim therefore you need to back it up will real science.
On mercury and kidneys–
the CDC states:
This from a California Department of Health Services document–which again doesn’t give limits.
The main point for this blog is, of course, mercury poisoning doesn’t look anything like autism.
Joseph,
I had been exposed to mercury before he was born. I received several dental amalgams before he was born and had been mercury-exposed otherwise as well. Birgit
Birgit Calhoun,
you were exposed to mercury before you were born. Everyone has been. Mercury is in small amounts of just about everything on earth. Always has been.