Free Republic

It is seldom recognized, commented historian René Dubos, that each society and every civilization creates its own diseases.1 Is the peanut allergy epidemic man-made? And if so, how has it been created in millions of children in just 20 years and who or what are its architects? The features of the epidemic continue to puzzle doctors. In the US alone, 5.6 million people – 2% of the population – are allergic topeanuts and nuts almost all having experienced onset as toddlers. This epidemic tipped into critical mass around 1998 when the first flood of allergic children entered kindergarten sending a...

Vaccine opponents, a scattered though potent force, have been gearing up in recent weeks to fight state health officials who are pushing for new immunization rules for babies and young children. This latest vaccine skirmish centers on proposals to require that young children in child care centers or preschool get vaccinated against both the flu and pneumonia. The shots would be for children over 6 months old and would include the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7), and the influenza vaccine. Health officials said the mandates, not yet final, would prevent as many as 300 hospitalizations each year -- and possibly several...

Thimerosol, a preservative developed by Eli Lily, was once widely used in vaccines. That was until it was identified as the source of the largest exposure to mercury in the United States in children under 18 months of age and mandated to be removed from vaccines. However, amazingly, despite its well-documented potential toxic effects, this harmful preservative remains present in the flu vaccine, which is given to pregnant women, the elderly and children. A team of researchers examined the toxicity of thimerosal within the body including neurons. They explored: Neurotoxic mechanisms How the body detoxifies mercury The use of...

US lawmakers against curbs on suing vaccine firms Reuters, 12.11.02, 7:22 PM ET By Maggie Fox and Joanne Kenen WASHINGTON, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Members of both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate vowed on Wednesday to get rid of controversial provisions, slipped quietly into the Homeland Security Act, that they say benefit vaccine makers at the expense of children with autism and other diseases. But one of the authors of the provisions said they were meant to ensure the country will have vaccines to give children. Vaccine critics say they can cause autism, and many have filed lawsuits....