Throughout the 1990s, when thimerosal was most heavily used, the number
of children diagnosed with autism reached epidemic proportions. During
this period, the levels of mercury that children received were 120 times
greater than safety standards set for oral ingestion of mercury in food,
according to the lawmakers.
In 1999, public health officials began asking vaccine-makers to
eliminate the preservative from childhood vaccines. But seven years
later, word got out that the preservative is still in the flu vaccine
recently added to the childhood immunization schedule, and parents,
medical experts, and scientists are outraged.
In seeking an independent review, the lawmakers basically told the
Centers for Disease Control to butt out. They maintain that previous
research conducted by the agency is flawed because it "was based on data
collected prior to the removal of thimerosal and failed to explicitly
compare the outcome of children who received thimerosal-containing
vaccines with those who did not," they said.
The group has also criticized the Institute of Medicine for its 2004
public announcement that there is no link between vaccines and autism,
because the conclusion for the most part, was based on European studies,
when American children had been injected with 75% higher levels of
mercury than the European children in the studies were exposed to.
In March 2006, the lawmakers sent a letter to the National Institute of
Environmental Health Sciences, asking their agency to conduct a study of
the CDC’s Vaccine Safety Datalink, which contains records on 7 million
children vaccinated since 1990.
“If the federal government is going to have a study whose results will
be broadly accepted, such a study cannot be led by the CDC," the
lawmakers wrote in the letter.
Although the debate over the cause of autism may rage on indefinitely,
the rising costs to society of caring for and educating the children
afflicted with the disorder can not be ignored.
On January 4, 2005, the Government Accountability Office advised the
Subcommittee on Human Rights and Wellness Committee on Government
Reform, that the average per pupil cost for educating a child with
autism was estimated to be over $18,000 during the 1999-2000 school
year, the most recent year in which data were available at the time of
the report.
That means that six years ago, the GAO’s estimate for educating autistic
children was nearly 3 times the cost of educating a normal student. The
amount of money needed to educate autistic children is the highest per
pupil cost for children receiving special ed services.
The epidemic does not discriminate, its happening in every state in the
nation, due to the fact that under the mandatory vaccine schedule,
children in every state received the same mercury-laced vaccines.
From December 1998 to December 2002, the autism population in
California’s Developmental Services System nearly doubled and the 97%
increase in 4 years did not include children less than 3, persons
classified with less common forms of autism, or persons who are
suspected of having autism but are not yet diagnosed.
The total number of autistic students served statewide increased from
10,360 in December 1998 to 20,377 in December 2002.
Over the last 6 years, the state of Ohio experienced more than a 1,000%
increase in students with autism, with 5,406 reported cases for the
2003-2004 school year, according to the Ohio Legislative Office Of
Education Oversight.
This year, the Pennridge School District in Pennsylvania, expects to
only receive about $1 million in federal funding, and only $2.8 million
from the state, to cover its $11 million special ed budget. This means
about 60% of the total cost will have to be paid by local taxpayers.
In recent years, the average age of autistic children entering the
school system has shifted to much younger children. Under federal law,
public schools must provide appropriate education for all children with
disabilities, starting at age 3, and many autistic children remain in
the system until age 21.
For very young children, the recommendation for early intervention has
created an increased demand for more intensive behavioral therapy and
educational services in general. However, the federal government only
partially reimburses the states for the cost of educating autistic
children, even though early intervention means that the services
required for each child must now be provided for a much longer period of
time.
And on the other hand, as more autistic children reach late adolescence,
the need for out-of-home residential services is beginning to have a
heavy impact on state budgets.
There is also an increase in public health care costs associated with
the growing number of autistic children. For instance, according to
state government records, South Carolina has an estimated 2000 children
under the age of 18 with autism, and the great majority of these
children are eligible for at least some services covered by Medicaid.
During the fiscal year 2005, according to the Department of Health and
Human Services, South Carolina paid out more than $20 million for autism
care, in large part, because most insurance companies do not cover the
high cost of the specific therapies that have been found to be the most
successful in treating children with autism.
A group of South Carolina lawmakers are trying to pass a bill that would
require private insurers to cover services for all autism patients
regardless of age. Industry lobbyist, Larry Marchant says that if
passed, the bill would cause the health insurance premiums that
individuals or families pay to increase 25%, and would average out to an
extra $200 a month for those enrolled in family plans, according to
State.com on March 26, 2006.
In addition, the financial burden that a disorder like autism takes on
families is absolutely devastating. Upon becoming autistic after
receiving vaccines at 16 months, Laura Bono says her son, "Jackson's
medical and therapy needs began taking every bit of money we had saved
or ever would have saved."
"The total we have paid for Jackson's medical, nutritional and private
therapy expenses so far," Laura says, "is roughly $685,000 since August
1990."
That amount averages out to well over $50,000 a year.
There is no escaping the fact that the epidemic is having a profound
impact on society; not only on autistic children and their families, but
on our public health care programs and school systems as well. And,
until vaccine-makers are held accountable, taxpayers will continue to
carry the full burden.
By Evelyn Pringle
Evelyn Pringle is a columnist for Independent Media TV and an
investigative journalist focused on exposing corruption in government.
Contact Evelyn
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