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Vaccine
Critics Attack Mercury Report
Several members of Congress who
believe that vaccines can cause autism in children criticized
an official report meant to lay such fears to rest, saying they
do not believe the findings.
The Institute of Medicine report
last month was the final in a series of investigations into vaccine
safety. It was meant to answer concerns about whether vaccines
or the mercury-based preservatives in them can cause autism.
The panel of experts said there
was no evidence to link vaccines with autism and urged researchers
to look elsewhere.
But Indiana Republican Rep. Dan
Burton, who has led Congressional efforts to find a connection
between autism and vaccines, denounced the report.
"Unfortunately, I believe the findings
announced in the May 18 IOM report are heavily biased, and unrepresentative
of all the available scientific and medical research," Burton,
who has a grandchild with autism, said in a statement.
He said the findings were "based
on selective scientific studies that are greatly flawed to begin
with."
The Institute of Medicine is an
independent organization, free of government funding, that advises
the federal government on health matters.
The vaccine panel was headed by
Dr. Marie McCormick, an expert in child and mother health at the
Harvard School of Public Health.
She has denied being biased and
noted the panel was not paid and had no ties to vaccine makers
or to the government.
Autism can affect a child's ability
to learn, speak and socialize. No one is sure precisely how many
children have autism, but some researchers say it could be as
common as one in every 1,000 children.
Barbara Loe Fisher, who founded
the National Vaccine Information Center, said she was not convinced
by the report and said she would not trust any government-comissioned
panel.
"Just because there is not a preponderance
of scientific proof does not mean that we should discontinue investigations,"
said California Democrat Rep. Diane Watson, Ranking Minority Member
of the House Government Reform Subcommittee on Human Rights and
Wellness.
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