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Silent Alarm

Aired December 10, 2002 - 10:23   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: There is growing concern, perhaps not scientifically valid to some, but the popular measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, MMR, is causing an epidemic of autism in small children. Congressman Dan Burton is chairman of the House Government Reform Committee. He's going to be holding a hearing on this issue in about three hours from now. We learned that he has a personal stake in this inquiry. He is the grandfather of a 5-year-old who was diagnosed with autism three years ago. He joins us from Washington.
Good to see you again, congressman. How is your grandson doing, Congressman?

REP. DAN BURTON (R), INDIANA: He's doing a little bit better. He still has severe speech problems. But he's doing a little better.

HARRIS: Well, that's good to hear. Here's hoping it gets even better down the road. So what is it you hope to accomplish with these hearings this afternoon?

BURTON: Well, first of all, I think that the public needs to know about some of the problems that we have with vaccines. I'm very much, I'm a strong advocate for vaccines. I think they're important for the health of the nation.

But at the same time, some of the vaccines, I think, have not been tested as well as they should have been. Some of the contents in the vaccines should not be in there, like thimerasol (ph), which contains mercury, and mercury has a cumulative effect on the brain, and causes -- I believe it's a contributing factor to autism. So these things I think that should be looked into by the Food and Drug Administration and Health and Human Services, and I don't believe they've done as good a job as they should have.

HARRIS: There's some, and doctors even, who have come up with distinctly different opinions about that, saying that the science behind all that isn't that strong.

BURTON: Well, we have had scientists from all over the world come in and testify, scientists from the United States. There is no question that mercury is a toxic substance that affects people and causes neurological damage. They've taken it out of topical dressings in 1985, and yet they continue to put it into our children and adults, in flu vaccines, and there's a growing body of evidence that it may be a part of the Alzheimer's problem we have.

So mercury, which is a toxic substance, should not be injected into human bodies in any way that's avoidable. HARRIS: We've heard that said about mercury quit a bit over the years. Let's bring in another perspective right now. Pediatrician Sharon Humiston has a different perspective. She is an expert on childhood immunization, and she's the author of "Vaccinating Your Child," questions and answers for concerned parents. She's also the mother of a 9-year-old autistic son.

Doctor Humiston joins us now from Rochester, New York, where she is on the faculty of the University of Rochester Medical School.

Thank you for taking time with us this morning.

How is your child doing?

DR. SHARON HUMISTON, PEDIATRICIAN: My son at 9 still doesn't have language, but he's a wonderful boy.

HARRIS: We're glad to hear that.

And again, as well with you, we hope that this gets better down the road.

Now, can you respond to these statements that we've just heard from Congressman Burton about the signs being so clear that these vaccines have some sort of a link to autism. What do you think about that?

HUMISTON: I think quite the opposite. The overwhelming evidence is that vaccines don't cause autism.

Most recently a study from Denmark showed in hundreds of thousands of children that there was no link between autism and MMR. What I'm concerned about is that hammering away at this theory is going to do two things, take away resources from furthering the science of autism. And secondly, plant the fear in the hearts of parents so that we're going to see a decrease in immunization rates and an increase in disease.

HARRIS: There's some risk of that...

BURTON: May I comment on that?

HEMMER: Yes, please, go ahead, Congressman.

BURTON: Yes, in 1992, they took thimeracol (ph) out of vaccines in Denmark, and that is a flawed study, number one, and I would like to ask the doctor, if she categorically says that there is no doubt whatsoever that mercury in vaccine causes -- is a contributing factor of autism. No doubt whatsoever in her mind, not at all?

HUMISTON: We know that thimerasol (ph) has been out of vaccines for years in the United States, and there's no appreciable decrease in autism.

BURTON: That is not the question. HUMISTON: So we have strong evidence, even from the United States, that thimerasol (ph) doesn't cause autism. There is a confusion here, too, between MMR and thimerasol (ph). MMR has not now and never had thimerosol (ph) in it. The parents shouldn't be confused about those two issues.

BURTON: Well, there's is a concern. There's been a test done on the MMR vaccine, studies done in England, that shows that the measles vaccine is found in the but and in the brain of some of these children that have gotten the MMR vaccine. But that's a different subject.

BURTON: What I asked you is, can you categorically say without any doubt whatsoever that the mercury in vaccine does not contribute to neurological problems?

HUMISTON: Of course I'm a scientist. And scientists...

BURTON: That is not an answer. You will not answer, will you?

HUMISTON: Scientists can't say things in a way that a politician can say them, because scientists can only prove things that are so. We can build evidence. So that's what I'm saying is, that for my child, science will help him more than emotion.

BURTON: Let me say this about emotion. We have had -- about science. We have had scientists from all over the world, including here in the United States, that say that the mercury in vaccine really causes neurological problems. We have had a scientist in Canada sent us a video showing that a very minute amount of mercury in the brain destroys the sleeve that controls the nerve in the brain.

So there's no question that mercury in our bodies does cause neurological problems. And for the doctor to evade the question about knowing for sure that mercury doesn't cause neurological problems in these vaccines shows very clearly that she simply doesn't know. She's an educated lady, no question about it, but she not going to give you a straightforward answer.

BURTON: I'm delighted that the science has been done, but it's been done now.

HEMMER: All right, we'll have to leave it there. We can why this is such an interesting and controversial topic, and that's one reason why we'll be paying attention to this hearing that takes place this afternoon.

Congressman Burton, thank you very much for your time this morning.

And Dr. Humiston, thank you as well.

And good luck to both you and your families as well. I wish you all the very best.

HUMISTON: Thank you.

BURTON: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired December 10, 2002 - 10:23   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: There is growing concern, perhaps not scientifically valid to some, but the popular measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, MMR, is causing an epidemic of autism in small children. Congressman Dan Burton is chairman of the House Government Reform Committee. He's going to be holding a hearing on this issue in about three hours from now. We learned that he has a personal stake in this inquiry. He is the grandfather of a 5-year-old who was diagnosed with autism three years ago. He joins us from Washington.
Good to see you again, congressman. How is your grandson doing, Congressman?

REP. DAN BURTON (R), INDIANA: He's doing a little bit better. He still has severe speech problems. But he's doing a little better.

HARRIS: Well, that's good to hear. Here's hoping it gets even better down the road. So what is it you hope to accomplish with these hearings this afternoon?

BURTON: Well, first of all, I think that the public needs to know about some of the problems that we have with vaccines. I'm very much, I'm a strong advocate for vaccines. I think they're important for the health of the nation.

But at the same time, some of the vaccines, I think, have not been tested as well as they should have been. Some of the contents in the vaccines should not be in there, like thimerasol (ph), which contains mercury, and mercury has a cumulative effect on the brain, and causes -- I believe it's a contributing factor to autism. So these things I think that should be looked into by the Food and Drug Administration and Health and Human Services, and I don't believe they've done as good a job as they should have.

HARRIS: There's some, and doctors even, who have come up with distinctly different opinions about that, saying that the science behind all that isn't that strong.

BURTON: Well, we have had scientists from all over the world come in and testify, scientists from the United States. There is no question that mercury is a toxic substance that affects people and causes neurological damage. They've taken it out of topical dressings in 1985, and yet they continue to put it into our children and adults, in flu vaccines, and there's a growing body of evidence that it may be a part of the Alzheimer's problem we have.

So mercury, which is a toxic substance, should not be injected into human bodies in any way that's avoidable. HARRIS: We've heard that said about mercury quit a bit over the years. Let's bring in another perspective right now. Pediatrician Sharon Humiston has a different perspective. She is an expert on childhood immunization, and she's the author of "Vaccinating Your Child," questions and answers for concerned parents. She's also the mother of a 9-year-old autistic son.

Doctor Humiston joins us now from Rochester, New York, where she is on the faculty of the University of Rochester Medical School.

Thank you for taking time with us this morning.

How is your child doing?

DR. SHARON HUMISTON, PEDIATRICIAN: My son at 9 still doesn't have language, but he's a wonderful boy.

HARRIS: We're glad to hear that.

And again, as well with you, we hope that this gets better down the road.

Now, can you respond to these statements that we've just heard from Congressman Burton about the signs being so clear that these vaccines have some sort of a link to autism. What do you think about that?

HUMISTON: I think quite the opposite. The overwhelming evidence is that vaccines don't cause autism.

Most recently a study from Denmark showed in hundreds of thousands of children that there was no link between autism and MMR. What I'm concerned about is that hammering away at this theory is going to do two things, take away resources from furthering the science of autism. And secondly, plant the fear in the hearts of parents so that we're going to see a decrease in immunization rates and an increase in disease.

HARRIS: There's some risk of that...

BURTON: May I comment on that?

HEMMER: Yes, please, go ahead, Congressman.

BURTON: Yes, in 1992, they took thimeracol (ph) out of vaccines in Denmark, and that is a flawed study, number one, and I would like to ask the doctor, if she categorically says that there is no doubt whatsoever that mercury in vaccine causes -- is a contributing factor of autism. No doubt whatsoever in her mind, not at all?

HUMISTON: We know that thimerasol (ph) has been out of vaccines for years in the United States, and there's no appreciable decrease in autism.

BURTON: That is not the question. HUMISTON: So we have strong evidence, even from the United States, that thimerasol (ph) doesn't cause autism. There is a confusion here, too, between MMR and thimerasol (ph). MMR has not now and never had thimerosol (ph) in it. The parents shouldn't be confused about those two issues.

BURTON: Well, there's is a concern. There's been a test done on the MMR vaccine, studies done in England, that shows that the measles vaccine is found in the but and in the brain of some of these children that have gotten the MMR vaccine. But that's a different subject.

BURTON: What I asked you is, can you categorically say without any doubt whatsoever that the mercury in vaccine does not contribute to neurological problems?

HUMISTON: Of course I'm a scientist. And scientists...

BURTON: That is not an answer. You will not answer, will you?

HUMISTON: Scientists can't say things in a way that a politician can say them, because scientists can only prove things that are so. We can build evidence. So that's what I'm saying is, that for my child, science will help him more than emotion.

BURTON: Let me say this about emotion. We have had -- about science. We have had scientists from all over the world, including here in the United States, that say that the mercury in vaccine really causes neurological problems. We have had a scientist in Canada sent us a video showing that a very minute amount of mercury in the brain destroys the sleeve that controls the nerve in the brain.

So there's no question that mercury in our bodies does cause neurological problems. And for the doctor to evade the question about knowing for sure that mercury doesn't cause neurological problems in these vaccines shows very clearly that she simply doesn't know. She's an educated lady, no question about it, but she not going to give you a straightforward answer.

BURTON: I'm delighted that the science has been done, but it's been done now.

HEMMER: All right, we'll have to leave it there. We can why this is such an interesting and controversial topic, and that's one reason why we'll be paying attention to this hearing that takes place this afternoon.

Congressman Burton, thank you very much for your time this morning.

And Dr. Humiston, thank you as well.

And good luck to both you and your families as well. I wish you all the very best.

HUMISTON: Thank you.

BURTON: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com