CDC Chief Admits that Vaccines Trigger Autism

Published on Apr 2, 2008
Ginger Taylor

Julie Gerberding, the head of the CDC, went on CNN's House Call with Dr. Sanjay Gupta to discuss the Hannah Poling case and admitted that vaccines trigger autism in a subset of the population with mitochondrial disorders.

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Addendum: Gerberding/CDC/HHS has given several names to the phenomenon of Vaccine Induced Autism. Gerberding calls it the "symptoms of autism" in this interview, "autism like syndrome" during a previous CDC press conference and HHS refers to it as "vaccine induced encepalopathy" on their website for the Vaccine Injury Compensation fund.

I wrote this piece (see link below) to point out the absurdity of trying to fool the American people into thinking that vaccines cause something that looks exactly like autism, and in fact is diagnosed as autism by every professional the child sees, but is actually an "autism like syndrome" with the "symptoms of autism" that occurred following a "vaccine induced encepalopathy" which has the exact same symptoms as autism, but it is not really autism... oh... and by the way... vaccines don't cause autism.

It is time to end the word games and deal with the problem.

MORE.

Congressional Briefing on the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program

Published on Dec 12, 2013
The Canary Party

On November 7th, 2013, members of the vaccine injury community held a briefing for congressional staffers to present many of the problems in the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program in preparation for hearings in the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Professor Mary Holland, Head of Graduate Legal Studies at NYU, and Rolf Hazelhurst, father in one of the test cases in the Omnibus Autism Proceeding and Assistant District Attorney General, State of Tennessee, present the case against the VICP and call for reform.

http://www.ebcala.org/amicus-briefs
http://www.ebcala.org/areas-of-law/vaccine-law/chairman-issa-postpones-vicp-hearing
http://www.ebcala.org/?s=wyeth

http://www.ageofautism.com/2014/10/the-obscure-federal-court-national-vaccine-injury-compensation-program.html

The Obscure Federal Court: National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program

By Louis Conte and Wayne Rohde

National Law Review published an article on the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (NVICP) on 10/13/14. The author, Jenna Greene, did a thorough job of interviewing people who have worked in the program and reported on concerns that many people concerned about vaccine injury have been pointing out for years.

We recommend that people read the full article here: http://www.nationallawjournal.com/home/id=1202673075069/Vaccine-Cases-Fill-This-Courts-Docket

The article noted how contentious the program has become. Many of the comments in the article are remarkable. Here is a sampling:

"I'm so disappointed in it," said Michael Hugo, senior litigation counsel to Khorrami Boucher's Boston office…it makes me sick to try to do these cases because I've seen how bad it has become."

It wasn't supposed to be difficult. The National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program was originally created as a bail-out for pharmaceutical companies, which during the 1980s were being hammered in court by juries sympathetic to brain-damaged children, even if the vaccine makers had properly produced the product. By the end of 1984, only one company was still making the diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine and shortages loomed.

"It was supposed to be a friendly, fast alternative program that didn't require the protections plaintiffs would have in civil litigation," such as discovery or trial by jury, Gentry said. "It's the complete opposite."

Once again, HRSA’s David Bowman comments about autism cases:

The fight these days isn't about autism, at least not much. In 2010, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld two decisions by special masters rejecting a causal connection between vaccines and autism. Since then, 4,926 of 5,637 autism cases have been dismissed by the vaccine court, according David Bowman, a spokesman for the Health Resources and Services Administration. The court "has not compensated any cases based upon autism alone in the absence of sudden serious brain illness after vaccination," he wrote in an email.

These would be cases that read like this one Bailey Banks v. HHS (02-0738V):

“The Court found that Bailey's ADEM was both caused-in-fact and proximately caused by his vaccination. It is well-understood that the vaccination at issue can cause ADEM, and the Court found, based upon a full reading and hearing of the pertinent facts in this case, that it did actually cause the ADEM. Furthermore, Bailey's ADEM was severe enough to cause lasting, residual damage, and retarded his developmental progress, which fits under the generalized heading of Pervasive Developmental Delay, or PDD [an autism spectrum disorder]. The Court found that Bailey would not have suffered this delay but for the administration of the MMR vaccine, and that this chain of causation was... a proximate sequence of cause and effect leading inexorably from vaccination to Pervasive Developmental Delay.”

Once again, the federal government concedes that vaccine injury that results in brain damage can also include autism.

But vaccines don’t cause autism, so we are told.

Will Congress ever hold hearings on the NVICP and call people like Bowman in to ask a simple questions like “Would these children have autism if they didn’t suffer vaccine injuries?”

Or, will Congress continue to cave into the pharmaceutical industry lobbying?

- Louis Conte & Wayne Rohde

The Autism War (fiction) available at Barnes & Noble and Amazon.
The Vaccine Court (nonfiction) available at Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

http://www.ageofautism.com/2014/11/dear-nancy-graceyou-cannot-sue-vaccine-manufacturers.html

Dear Nancy Grace,

I watched a clip from your Monday, November 3, 2014, show and wanted to send you a letter. I could see that you were shocked about something and would like to add to what you asked Becky Estepp to explain to you in plain terms.

I’m glad you asked for further explanation of such an important topic. More people need to know that they cannot sue vaccine manufacturers if they encounter a problem with a vaccine. Not being able to take legal action for something that is pushed so heavily is an unfortunate truth.

I’m sure you’ve had a chance by now to visit the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services webpage that explains what the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program is. Anyone contemplating a vaccine should take time to read through that site and understand what that program entails. It includes crucial information that isn’t overly advertised like vaccines are.

One the website, you saw what the US government recognizes as a vaccine injury. You read about the steps it takes to file a claim and learn about the “Vaccine Court” process. You saw the breakdown of past claims. You caught sight of several charts and a statistic report. You read about an excise tax, a tax paid by vaccine consumers that the government uses to pay claims. I hope you also clicked on the link that shows how much has been compensated (which, as of November 3, 2014, is $3,021,080,103.09) to the vaccine injured and to families who’ve lost a loved one due to a vaccine.

Now, I don’t think I’ve seen any first-hand accounts from families on that particular website, but you can contact me if you want to hear my family’s experience with that program. Fair warning: our experience was terrible. Terrible!

Here is some of our story.

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Cathy Jameson is a Contributing Editor for Age of Autism.
Posted by Age of Autism at November 09, 2014 at 5:45 AM in Cathy Jameson

http://www.ageofautism.com/2008/07/dear-dr-novella.html

Dr. Jon Poling to Dr. Steven Novella: Don't Attack the Moms

Managing Editor's Note: The following is a letter sent to Dr. Steven Novella, a neurologist at Yale University, from Dr. Jon Poling. (We've printed the letter with permission.) Dr. Novella is the founder of The New England Skeptical Society (meetings, 1st Tuesday of the month, on the lawn of the House of the Seven Gables, Salem, MA. BYOB (bring your own blinders.) and is a contributing editor to Quackwatch. Dr. Poling is a neurologist/PhD and the father of Miss Hannah Poling.

Dear Dr. Novella,

Your assertion that the scientific question of Autism etiology belongs to the medical community rather than Hollywood Stars is correct. I also agree that Hollywood opinions are more likely to be broadcast to millions because of their position in the media. This heightened awareness is nothing but a positive thing for the million families struggling with this difficult, and all too common, disorder. Jenny McCarthy is an Autism Mom looking for answers and rattling some cages—good for her. Amanda Peet is a new mom who believes in the importance of vaccines to protect her baby—good for her too. Don’t attack the moms, listen to them.

These issues are very complex as we exchanged before and not amenable to soundbites. Regarding your entry on Hannah’s case, your blog entry unfortunately propagates several of the mistakes from the media.

In criticizing the journalism of Mr. David Kirby, you wrote:

“He refers again to the Hannah Poling case, a girl with a mitochondrial disorder who developed a neurodegenerative disorder with “features of autism” after getting a fever from vaccines.”

Actually—Hannah has diagnoses of DSM-IV Autism (by JHU/KKI psychology) and mitochondrial disorder (by two metabolic experts). The only ‘degeneration’ that occurred (along with 6mos of total growth failure) after 18mos of NORMAL development followed vaccination and nothing else! Of course, any ‘scientist’ can obviously point out that temporal correlation in a single case never proves causation. Rule number one of pediatrics though is “LISTEN TO THE MOM.” Are 10s of thousands of autism moms over the last decade suffering from mass hysteria induced by Hollywood? Not likely.

You also noted:

“This special case - which is not a case of autism being caused by toxins in vaccines - says nothing about the broader vaccine-autism debate.”

The only thing unique about my little girl’s case is the level of medical documentation—5 to 20% of patients with ASDs have mitochondrial dysfunction. Many other cases where mitochondrial testing is WNL is because "we never looked" not because the testing would be "within normal limits." Most mitochondrial experts will tell you that the dots of autism and mitochondrial disorders are strongly connected.

Finally, you say:

“The case was settled (not judged in Poling’s favor, but settled) because both sides realized it was a special case that could not be extrapolated to other vaccine-autism cases.”

The case was not settled, it was conceded by medical representatives of Sec HHS. We are obviously pleased with the HHS decision to concede our case, but we had NOTHING to do with the concession. This was a unilateral decision from HHS (recall that HHS is the respondent, rather than the vaccine maker, as manufacturers have blanket liability protection afforded by the Vaccine Injury Program established in 1986) I will not speculate on the obvious question—why concede? Hannah’s case was positioned to set precedent as a test case in the Omnibus Autism Proceedings for potentially thousands of other cases.

With regard to the science of Autism, I have no argument with the assertion that a single case does not prove causation of a generalized autism-vaccine link. What the case does illustrate though is a more subtle point that many physicians cannot or do not want to comprehend (ostensibly because vaccines are too important to even question). Autism is a heterogeneous disorder defined by behavioral criteria and having multiple causes. Epidemiological studies which have not found a link between autism and aspects of vaccination do not consider the concept of autism subgroups. Indeed, in a heterogeneous disorder like Autism, subgroups may indeed be ‘vaccine-injured’ but the effect is diluted out in the larger population (improperly powered study due to inability to calculate effect size with unknown susceptible subpopulation). I think former NIH Director, Dr. Bernadine Healey explained it best in that population epidemiology studies are not “granular” enough to rule-out a susceptible subgroup.

Furthermore, ‘science’ has not systematically studied the children who fell ill following vaccination to determine what the cause(s) for their adverse reaction was. It would follow that if you never tried to understand why a single child developed encephalopathy following vaccination—you wouldn’t have the first clue as to what aspects of vaccination you could alter which could increase the relative risk of that adverse event (whether it be thimerosal, live virus, or ‘too many’). Could the susceptibility be a mitochondrial genetic haplogroup similar to Chloramphenicol toxicity—sure it could! Why did a few Alzheimer’s patients die of fatal encephalitis following administration of the failed AN-1792 vaccine, but the majority had no ill effects (vaccine didn’t work though)?

Definition: Autism is a heterogeneous systemic disorder with primary neuropsychiatric manifestations due to complex genetic and gene-environmental interactions likely affecting synaptic plasticity early in childhood development. This new theory of Autism is rapidly replacing the ‘old guard’ dictum that Autism is a genetically predetermined developmental brain disorder of synaptic formation/pruning that is set in motion prenatally. By the ‘10 year rule of science,’ your time is about up!

Until the biological basis of ASD subgroups are better understood, further epidemiological and genetic studies regarding “Autism” causation will be relatively meaningless. We need good science to be able to address these complex issues which parallel nicely the emerging story of genetic and environmental influences in Parkinson’s disease. Perhaps some Parkinson’s researchers want to take a crack at Autism?

Recommended SCIENCE reading for the evening:

Altered calcium homeostasis in autism-spectrum disorders: evidence from biochemical and genetic studies of the mitochondrial aspartate/glutamate carrier AGC1. Mol Psychiatry 2008 Jul 8. (The discussion includes thimerosal as a potential toxin that could trigger further perturbations of calcium homeostasis leading to neuronal injury—and in a mainstream Nature publication no less)

Thank-you Dr. Novella and his band of skeptics for continuing the debate.

Dr. Jon Poling

Jon S. Poling MD PhD
Managing Partner, Athens Neurological Associates
Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology, Medical College of Georgia
Diplomate, American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine
ASN Certified in MRI and CT Neuroimaging

Posted by Age of Autism at July 22, 2008

After the Polings' press conference, Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, responded to their claims that vaccines had caused their daughter's autism. “Let me be very clear that the government has made absolutely no statement . . . indicating that vaccines are a cause of autism,” she said.5 Gerberding's biggest challenge was defining the term “autism.” Because autism is a clinical diagnosis, children are labeled as autistic on the basis of a collection of clinical features. Hannah Poling clearly had difficulties with language, speech, and communication. But those features of her condition considered autistic were part of a global encephalopathy caused by a mitochondrial enzyme deficit. Rett's syndrome, tuberous sclerosis, fragile X syndrome, and Down's syndrome in children can also have autistic features. Indeed, features reminiscent of autism are evident in all children with profound impairments in cognition; but these similarities are superficial, and their causal mechanisms and genetic influences are different from those of classic autism.

I have no argument with the assertion that a single case does not prove causation of a generalized autism-vaccine link. What the case does illustrate though is a more subtle point that many physicians cannot or do not want to comprehend (ostensibly because vaccines are too important to even question).

Autism is a heterogeneous disorder defined by behavioral criteria and having multiple causes. Epidemiological studies which have not found a link between autism and aspects of vaccination do not consider the concept of autism subgroups. Indeed, in a heterogeneous disorder like Autism, subgroups may indeed be ‘vaccine-injured’ but the effect is diluted out in the larger population (improperly powered study due to inability to calculate effect size with unknown susceptible subpopulation). I think former NIH Director, Dr. Bernadine Healey explained it best in that population epidemiology studies are not “granular” enough to rule-out a susceptible subgroup.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/115393658/Andrew-Zimmerman

Andrew Zimmerman / Poling v HHS Exhibit 3

Published by Heather Rhodes White

In a second case Zimmerman was called to give his expert report on was Poling v. HHS. He revised his testimony, which was in complete contradiction from Cedillo v. HHS. His report to the Special Masters;

“The cause for regressive encephalopathy in Hannah (Poling) at age 19 months was underlying mitochondrial dysfunction, exacerbated by vaccine-induced fever and immune stimulation that exceeded metabolic energy reserves. This acute expenditure of metabolic reserves led to permanent irreversible brain injury. Thus, if not for this event, Hannah may have led a normal full productive life. Presently, I predict Hannah will have a normal lifespan but with significant lifelong disability.”

http://najms.net/wp-content/uploads/v06i03.pdf#page=34

...The data presented in Dr. Mumper’s review of the medical literature, suggests that ASD may be impacted by environmental toxicants, duration of breastfeeding, gut flora composition, nutritional status, acetaminophen use, vaccine practices and use of antibiotics and/or frequency of infections. In her current general pediatric practice (Advocates for Children), she has noted a modest trend toward a lower prevalence of ASD than in her previous pediatric practice or recent prevalence estimates from the CDC.

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The final commentary was written by Dr. Herbert, who presents her paper entitled “Everyday Epigenetics from Molecular Intervention to Public Health and Lifestyle Medicine.” She asserts that it may well take a grass roots epigenetic/lifestyle medicine revolution to avert the worsening health trends we are facing in the setting of a progressively more toxic and endangered planet. She posits that everyday epigenetics can inform science of what is possible so that society can respond on an appropriate scale to the magnitude of the crisis we are facing...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/new-releases/books/10943/

AMAZON.COM Hot New Releases: The best-selling new and future releases in Medical Law and Legislation (updated hourly)

#1.

The Vaccine Court (Hardcover)
by Wayne Rohde
Publication Date: November 11, 2014


#2.

Code of Medical Ethics, 2014-2015 (Paperback)
by American Medical Association
Publication Date: November 5, 2014


#4.

The Vaccine Court (Kindle)
by Wayne Rohde
Publication Date: November 11, 2014

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