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Letter from Dr. Mark and David Geier

Dear Everyone,

Please, find attached to this email a new study, "Neurodevelopmental Disorders Following Thimerosal-Containing Childhood Immunizations: A Follow-up Analysis"
[See:  NeuroDevelopmental Disorders Following TCVs - A Follow-up Analysis  [Adobe Acrobat Format, 177 K]] just published in the peer-reviewed scientific/medical International Journal of Toxicology (American College of Toxicology). The authors previously published the first epidemiological study from the United States associating thimerosal from childhood vaccines with neurodevelopmental disorders based upon assessment of the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) database. A number of years have gone by since their previous analysis of the VAERS. The present completely open epidemiological study was undertaken to determine whether the previously observed effect between thimerosal containing childhood vaccines and neurodevelopmental disorders rare still apparent in the VAERS as children have had a chance to further mature and be diagnosed with additional neurodevelopmental disorders. In the present study, a cohort of children receiving thimerosal-containing Diphtheria-Tetanus-acellular-Pertussis (DTaP) vaccines in comparison to a
cohort of children receiving thimerosal-free DTaP vaccines administered from 1997 through 2000 based upon an assessment of adverse events reported to the VAERS database (online VAERS database updated through 28 February 2004) were evaluated.

It was determined that there were significantly increased odds ratios (ORs) for autism
(OR = 1.8 p < 0.05), mental retardation (OR = 2.6, p < 0.002), speech disorders
(OR = 2.1, p < 0.02), personality disorders (OR = 2.6, p < 0.01), and thinking abnormalities (OR = 8.2, p < 0.01) reported to the VAERS database following thimerosal-containing DTaP vaccines in comparison to thimerosal-free DTaP vaccines. Potential confounders and reporting biases were found to be minimal in this assessment of the VAERS. It was observed, even though the media has reported a potential association between autism and thimerosal exposure, that the other neurodevelopmental disorders analyzed in this assessment of the VAERS database had significantly higher odds ratios than autism following thimerosal-containing DTaP vaccines in comparison to thimerosal-free DTaP vaccines.

The present study provides additional epidemiological evidence supporting previous epidemiological, clinical and experimental evidence that administration of thimerosal-containing vaccines in the United States resulted in a significant number of children developing neurodevelopmental disorders. The authors concluded, "Despite, the recent conclusion from the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine that there is no evidence of relationship between thimerosal and autism, and that no further scientific research should be undertaken to evaluate to evaluate the relationship between thimerosal and autism, the results of the present study, taken with data recently published by a number of researchers,
demonstrate a connection between mercury exposure via infant vaccinations and the dramatic increase in autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders in the United States. It is clear that the results of the present study, mandate that additional research should be undertaken, no only for autism, but other childhood neurodevelopmental disorders, by evaluating childhood mercury-associated exposures, especially from thimerosal-containing childhood vaccines."