Thank you for allowing Stacey Bahr to give us her views on what autism is doing to our country. I wanted to pass on some additional information on the vaccine-autism controversy.

For years, as the rate exploded, officials were convinced that there really wasn’t more autism, just better diagnosing. They claimed the definition had been broadened back in 1994, and that’s why more kids had the diagnosis. The only problem is autism has steadily risen over the last 25 years when it affected just one in 10,000 children. In 2002, the rate was one in every 250 kids. In 2004 it was one in 166. In 2007, it became one in 150. In 2009, it soared to one in 110, and now it’s one in every 88 children, and among boys alone, it’s one in 54. Just when are doctors going to get the diagnosis right? When is the rate going to stabilize?

How bad do the numbers have to get before someone knows what’s happening?

Bahr wrote, “I had, I believe, four vaccines as a child: polio, tetanus, MMR and diphtheria. My son received 32 by the time he was 5.”

HDNet TV exposed the fact that while health officials continue to tell us studies show no link, the federal government has paid out millions of dollars for compensation for vaccine injuries that included autism. Seeing these children who were born healthy and were suddenly and dramatically affected by their vaccinations should give us all pause: www.ebcala.org/news/video.

The Los Angeles Times published this review of the new film, “Greater Good”: articles.latimes.com/2011/oct/14/entertainment/la-et-capsules-greater-good20111014.

The short trailer to this movie on their website www.greatergoodmovie.org/experts-in-the-field makes it clear that there are experts on both sides and a lot of serious questions that need to be asked. The medical community and health officials promote vaccines as the greatest achievement in modern medicine, yet there is growing fear over vaccine side effects.

This recent news coverage makes it clear that the vaccine debate is never going away.

(Letter writer lists several news stories showing both sides of vaccine issue.)

We allow the agency that approves, recommends and vigorously promotes vaccines to also be in charge of vaccine safety. The CDC is also the place where hundreds of people have conflict waivers because of their direct financial ties to the vaccine makers. The last head of the CDC, Dr. Julie Gerberding, a longtime denier of any link between vaccines and autism, is now the head of the vaccine division at Merck.

Serious questions were raised about the power and influence of the pharmaceutical industry over groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics when it comes to vaccines.

I hope all this shows just how involved this debate is. Many people have everything at stake in the claim that there is no link between vaccines and autism. This issue deserves coverage from both sides. Thank you, again.

 

Anne Dachel

media editor

Age of Autism

Chippewa Falls, Wis.