The Homeland Security
Bill, recently passed in the Senate and signed by President
Bush, includes a provision that protects manufacturers of
vaccine additive thimerosal -- an additive that may cause
autism -- from liability in vaccine-related lawsuits. According
to supporters of the provision, lawsuits could ruin vaccine-producing
companies in a time when vaccines are essential to protect
the country against a looming biochemical attack.
About 150 individual
autism lawsuits, with thousands more being prepared, are aimed
at Eli Lilly and Co., the inventors of the additive that has
been used in common children’s vaccines until recently
and whose chairman is on the White House Advisory Council
on Homeland Security. Critics of the liability provision say
that it did not go through the usual committee process and
call it a "gift to politically influential drug companies."
Although vaccine manufacturers have been protected from liability
since 1988, the provision will extend protection given to
vaccines to include vaccine additives
The provision was
taken out of a stalled vaccine bill and added to the Homeland
Security Bill as it was nearing approval. Since January 2001,
Republicans have received $14 million from the pharmaceutical
industry, compared with Democrats’ $5.2 million, leading
Democrats to say that the provision is a payback to the industry
from Republicans.
Countering this,
Republicans say that lawyers who opposed the provision have
given $45 million to Democrats and $17.5 million to Republicans
since January 2001.
The number of autism,
a developmental disability, cases has tripled over the last
10 years, and many people have blamed mercury-containing thimerosal
for the increase. In 1999, the Food and Drug Administration
said that infants who received recommended vaccinations were
exposed to excessive levels of mercury and asked vaccine manufacturers
to remove the substance from vaccines. Although no evidence
has been found to prove or disprove the link between thimerosal
and autism, some say that vaccine manufacturers were aware
of thimerosal’s risks in the 1970s but continued to use
the additive despite scientists warnings.
News
Day November 24, 2002
