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Second IOM Review of Vaccine/Autism Connection
By Lisa Reagan
Web Exclusive

There’s been a setback in the fight to prove a link between autism spectrum disorders and childhood vaccines. Activists were hoping to postpone the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) Immunization Safety Review Committee to allow more time for the completion of ongoing independent research on the links between autism and childhood vaccines. However, the committee met on February 9, 2004, at the request of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), despite written pleas from US Representative Dave Weldon, MD (R-FL), and the nonprofit advocacy group Safe Minds to postpone the meeting.

Safe Minds accused the IOM of being in direct violation of its charter, as the IOM had yet to follow through on the conclusions of its 2001 report, which acknowledge that the link between vaccines and autism is "biologically plausible," recommend the use of thimerosal-free vaccines, and recognize a need for diverse and extensive research into the issue. The IOM and CDC have told Mothering that the February 9 IOM meeting was part of an ongoing review of the issue of vaccines and autism, and was not in violation of the IOM charter.

Of the 13 speakers who presented evidence to the IOM committee on February 9, seven advocated a potential biological link between autism and vaccines, five presented government-sponsored epidemiological studies that found no link, and one discussed a study of thimerosal’s effects on non-human primates.

Some IOM committee members and public questioners noted that the UK and Danish governments did not have the same vaccines or vaccination schedules as the US, and asked whether epidemiological studies from these countries should be considered relevant to the committee’s task.

H. Vasken Aposhian, PhD, professor of molecular and cellular biology and professor of pharmacology at the University of Arizona, said, "Epidemiological studies do not reveal cause and effect. Rather, they reveal statistical correlations. . . . It is this toxicologist’s view that the link between thimerosal and neurodevelopmental disorders in children has become more plausible."

Independent researchers Mark R. Geier, PhD, and David Geier were allowed to access the CDC’s own Vaccine Safety Datalink in December 2003 after many previous requests had been denied, and following the intervention of Congressman Weldon. Their study concludes that "the CDC’s database supports every other database that thimerosal is a major contributor to the autism epidemic." It compares the autism rates of 85,000 children who received thimerosal-containing vaccines with 70,000 children who received thimerosal-free vaccines. The rate of autism was 27 times higher in the group that received thimerosal-containing vaccines.

The IOM committee is expected to issue a report on its conclusions in May or June 2004. A written transcript of the February 9, 2004 meeting will be available on the IOM website, www.iom.edu.