Gov't quietly concedes Vaccine/Autism case

[shesulsa]

After years of insisting there is no evidence to link vaccines with the onset of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the US government has quietly conceded a vaccine-autism case in the Court of Federal Claims.

The unprecedented concession was filed on November 9, and sealed to protect the plaintiff's identify. It was obtained through individuals unrelated to the case.


The claim, one of 4,900 autism cases currently pending in Federal "Vaccine Court," was conceded by US Assistant Attorney General Peter Keisler and other Justice Department officials, on behalf of the Department of Health and Human Services, the "defendant" in all Vaccine Court cases.
The child's claim against the government -- that mercury-containing vaccines were the cause of her autism -- was supposed to be one of three "test cases" for the thimerosal-autism theory currently under consideration by a three-member panel of Special Masters, the presiding justices in Federal Claims Court.

ENTIRE ARTICLE

Getting a doctor willing to test for mitochondrial disorders is difficult and usually involves enrolling in a study - sometimes you must pay to be in a study, sometimes you have to drive far, far away.

Curious what other have to say about this.

 

[Makalakumu]

I can't imagine watching my perfectly normal child getting a vaccination and completely breaking down mentally. I would feel so betrayed...

 

[Ninjamom]

They are still trying to downplay this whole issue, only conceding that the mercury-laced vaccine resulted in a previous genetic predispostion manifesting as autism (whatever that's supposed to mean). I think they actually went out of their way to avoid saying the vaccines caused autism, just that it made something that was already there get worse, so that what didn't look like autism before, looks and acts like autism now. (????)

You are right that this is HUGE, though. It will open the Federal Court's Pandora's Box to tons of lawsuits, years of litigation, and hopefully, funding to fix the problem.

 

[shesulsa]

The genetic tests for this are available and relatively inexpensive - especially when you compare it to the enormous cost of a life-long disability.

The most significant thing here is the concession where they SCREAMED against thimerisol and vaccine causation.

 

[Empty Hands]

Vaccines don't cause autism. This has been shown beyond a reasonable doubt by the science. The government's actions may lend credence to this theory, but they don't constitute actual scientific evidence.

For examples of the studies showing this, see here, here.

These types of studies have shown both that thimerosal is not associated with autism, and that autism rates have not decreased since the preservative was removed from vaccines.

 

[shesulsa]

There have been accusations that while thimerisal is no longer included in vaccine manufacture that the vaccines containing the preservative were never recalled - so the oldest stores containing thimerisal were to be exhausted before the newer vaccines are used.

But again, I've said it before - I don't think there is one cause for autism and I don't think we're paying attention to all the right things.

 

[Kacey]

But again, I've said it before - I don't think there is one cause for autism and I don't think we're paying attention to all the right things.

This is, I think, the key - like many other developmental concerns, autism is a complex, multi-faceted issue, affected by both genetics and environment. There is no one answer as to cause, and no one answer as to treatment. Even more than many other syndromes affecting the brain, autism requires an individualized approach for the best results.

 

[Ping898]

But again, I've said it before - I don't think there is one cause for autism

I think this is the one thing that is continually forgotten or ignored. I think many time when a child is diagnosed with what could be considered a devastating diagnosis you immediately look to find the cause or the blame when there may not be a simple answer or anything for you to rail against.

Though I don't think vaccines cause autism, I'd be willing to admit that if there is a genetic predisposition to an autism disorder that something in the vaccines may trigger whatever is dormant. It may be something in one of the vaccines that has not even been looked at which is why studies have found no differences now that the mercury has been removed.

 

[punisher73]

I've known a couple of people personally who had their child diagnosed with autism and put them on the lactose/gluten free diet and their child showed no signs of autism after that.

I don't think it's too far a stretch to start looking into certain causes of autism are severe allergic reactions that we don't fully understand.