"Autism controversy eats at credibility of CDC"

Thursday's Atlanta Journal-Constitution (registration required) has a very good story detailing some of the recent developments in the continuing vaccines and autism controversy. As to the validity of such a link, there's no news and still no evidence to support it, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics and the CDC, among many others. But renewed interest and support from members have Congress have redirected attention to the topic, which by itself has an impact on vaccination, as the story explains...

"As the debate and controversy increasingly finds its way into pediatricians' offices, average parents of healthy children are questioning whether vaccines are safe, sometimes even refusing inoculations.

The CDC and other public health officials insist such questions lack a basis in fact or science. Their greatest concern is that the broadening debate holds the potential to put a new generation of children at certain risk of deadly diseases if confidence in the safety of vaccines is lost and they don't receive recommended shots.

'I think it's huge,' said Dr. Julia McMillan, a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics committee that makes vaccine recommendations. 'There's no pediatrician in practice that doesn't confront this on a weekly basis: families who are questioning the need for – and in some cases refusing — vaccines for their children.'"

Yesterday's USA Today featured a full page ad paid for by several autism advocacy groups which cites Robert F. Kennedy's comments on the CDC last month (which we wrote about here) and links to the website www.putchildrenfirst.org. That site, which includes links to numerous CDC documents, memoranda, and e-mails, describes its mission as follows...

"In our efforts to share the truth with other parents, we have been frustrated by the amount of misinformation in the press stating that the connection between mercury and autism has been disproven. This website was constructed to share the truth about what 'proof' actually means.

The National Immunization program (sic) is at risk. The CDC through the choices made, has eroded public trust. Autism is a national emergency and a national shame. We need independent journalists and members of Congress to take action now and put our children first."

In the AJC, the CDC responds... "CDC spokesman Glen Nowak said many of the documents on the site have been in the public domain for years, and are presented out of context and in ways that may 'look quite ominous' – when they're not." Regarding the USA Today advertisement, the CDC released this response, expressing 'disappointment' at how their (and others') efforts were characterized.

Finally, the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia recently updated its page on "Thimerosal and Autism."