The anti-vaccination camp deserves credit for their grassroots outreach efforts and powers of persuasion. They are aggressive and effective. They have a flair for presenting their arguments with confidence and zeal. They will tell you unequivocally that they are better informed, more educated and less naive than those who blindly trust the pharmaceutical industry. They’ll look at you with pity… and horror that you would risk the well-being of your children. You will see strength in their conviction, even contempt for those who disagree with them. They will tell you about the countless studies and vast numbers of experts who they claim are on their side. For most people, this multi-pronged approach will be difficult to deflect.
This article hopes to function like a vaccine, to inoculate you from this spreading virus. To accomplish this, I will present an impassioned argument, just as it was laid out by leaders of the anti-vaccination movement, with all of the emotional and scientific trimmings you can expect from an anti-vaccination devotee. A hard look at their claims will uncover misinformation and distortions. When they cite studies and experts to prove their beliefs, we will uncover an apparent inability to convey information honestly. To put it plainly, you will see that the studies just don’t say what they claim they say. And, in case it is my honesty or literacy that you think should be in question, you will find one gem waiting for you at the end of the article: I actually tracked down the authors of these studies, the ones who supposedly support the anti-vaccination agenda. For that, you will have to read on.
In my hunt for evidence that mercury in vaccines causes autism, I was sent an article from one of the most well-known leaders of the anti-vaccine movement, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an environmental attorney and son of Bobby Kennedy. His article, “New CDC Research Debunks Agency’s Assertion That Mercury in Vaccines Is Safe” (1) has been posted on several anti-vaccine sites. The article cites a recently published study from two CDC researchers and claims that these CDC researchers finally offer a “stark rejection of a decade of CDC safety assurances.”
As the article points out, there are two forms of mercury: Methylmercury is the type of mercury found in items such as tuna fish. Ethylmercury is the form of mercury found in some flu vaccines, among other products. Since the FDA and EPA recommend limits on tuna consumption for pregnant women due to potential harm from methylmercury, Kennedy asks why the CDC is less concerned about the potential harm from ethylmercury in vaccines.
Kennedy writes, “The CDC has long answered that nettlesome question with the controversial claim that ethylmercury in vaccines is not toxic to humans. Now, two CDC scientists have published research (2) decisively debunking that assertion. As it turns out, there is no ‘good mercury’ and ‘bad mercury.’ Both forms are equally poisonous to the brain.”
What is this newly published research? CDC researchers, John Risher and Pamela Tucker, look at studies that were done on the two types of mercury and demonstrate ways that they, in fact, cause similar types of harm. Kennedy claims that this is a clear contradiction to the CDC assertion that ethylmercury is “good mercury.”
Kennedy quotes one pediatrician, “This scientific paper is one of the most important pieces of research to come out of the CDC in a decade. It confirms what so many already suspected: that public health officials have been making a terrible mistake in recommending that we expose babies and pregnant women to this neurotoxin. I regret to say that I gave these shots to children. The CDC led us all to believe that it was perfectly safe.”
He quotes J. B. Handley, the founder of Generation Rescue, a vaccine safety advocacy group, condemning the CDC for misleading the medical establishment. Handley says, “With this study, by its own scientists, the CDC has now edged into the realm of criminal endangerment.”
Kennedy then quotes another “expert”, someone he claims is, “one of the world’s leading authorities on mercury toxicity.” He is a favorite of the anti-vaccine camp who became famous for briefly selling his own “miracle cure” for autism (3):
“‘This study is a nuclear bomb detonating over the CDC,’ Boyd Haley, chairman emeritus of the University of Kentucky Chemistry Department, said. ‘It should be getting international, front page headlines.’”
It sounds really bad: CDC researchers finally refute their own agency’s defense of vaccines, showing that ethylmercury is just as bad as methylmercury! A doctor, because of this study, expresses heartfelt regret for the vaccines he administered throughout his career! According to “one of the world’s leading authorities,” this study is a nuclear bomb over the CDC! The CDC is now on the verge of criminality!
It would be convincing if these claims were not a work of fantasy, fabricated by these leaders and authorities of the anti-vaccination camp. Let’s take a close and honest look at this supposed admission from CDC researchers.
Risher and Tucker compare the “mechanisms of toxic action”, the ways these two types of mercury could harm a person. That is, at sufficiently high doses, they found many similarities in how these two types of mercury cause harm. (4) The study does not say that this harm would occur from the low-level doses in vaccines. In fact, they repeatedly and explicitly state that, although the two types of mercury can cause similar types of harm, there is a difference in how their toxicity actually plays out in the body.
In both the abstract of the study and its last paragraph, the CDC researchers clearly explain why we don’t find incidents of mercury poisoning from ethylmercury like we find from methylmercury. They write that this is because of its low dose and how quickly it is metabolized and eliminated from the body. (5)
This doesn’t contradict the CDC. The CDC makes this exact distinction to explain why mercury in vaccines is not harmful. They don’t say that ethylmercury is “good mercury”. Rather, they say, “The low levels of ethylmercury in vaccines are broken down by the body differently and clear out of the blood more quickly than methylmercury.” (6) Doesn’t that sound familiar?
It’s difficult to imagine how Kennedy and crew wrote an exhaustive review of this study, but missed the abstract and final paragraph.
An apparently confused Kennedy even goes on to attack the CDC for continuing to give this explanation for why mercury in vaccines is safe despite the “revelations” of this study. He writes, "For example, CDC's webpage still parrots the now discredited industry canard that: 'Thimerosal contains ethylmercury, which is cleared from the human body more quickly than methylmercury, and is therefore less likely to cause any harm.' However, the new study makes the opposite conclusion.” No, it does not “make the opposite conclusion.” It actually reiterates their conclusion.
Kennedy also quotes one of the studies (7) cited by Risher and Tucker, in an effort to prove that mercury from vaccines stays in the body longer than claimed by the CDC. However, this study also has no bearing whatsoever on Kennedy’s assertion. It simply describes the chemical process by which the preservative used in some flu vaccines breaks down, in part, into ethylmercury. They are not at all discussing how long it then stays in the body.
The bottom line is, yes, people are lying and misrepresenting the data. But, it’s not the CDC, as the anti-vaccine camp believes with all of their heart; it is their own movement’s leaders. This is one of countless examples. In this example, it is so blatant that it's difficult to imagine they just made an honest mistake. Anti-vaxxers love to say that they are the only ones who go back to the studies and honestly look at the data. They do nothing of the sort.
Perhaps you are wondering if you should trust my understanding of these studies. Here is that gem I promised: I actually tracked down Dr. John Risher himself, the lead author of this study, the one who Kennedy lauds for finally speaking out against his own agency. I also managed to connect with Dr. Hasinoff and Dr. Yalowich, two of the researchers of the other study that Kennedy and friends inexplicably use to support their belief that mercury stays in your body longer than claimed by the CDC. They all unequivocally rejected these unfounded claims.
When I asked Dr. Hasinoff and Dr. Yalowich if their study supports the belief that mercury remains in one’s body longer than claimed by the CDC. They said definitively, “This was not addressed in our study. To claim otherwise would be false.”
Dr. Risher expressed frustration at how people in the anti-vaccination camp are misrepresenting his study. He quipped, "Figures don't lie, but liars figure!" I also asked Dr. Risher about Kennedy's claim that his study reveals that mercury stays in your body longer than believed. No, it does not. Just to be sure, I asked him if there is anything in his study that would support being against vaccines. Again, he said very certainly, "No."
Dr. Risher shared one other disturbing bit of information. He said, “A lady from Kennedy's office actually called me, excited about this study. And, I told her, ‘No, no, no, that's not right. You’re misunderstanding it!’" It is disturbing that Mr. Kennedy never mentions this in his article and leaves information, verified to be false, posted all over the web. These are the people who attack the CDC for misconstruing data and hiding the truth!
You don’t need to wonder if Dr. Risher was just saying this to protect his job at the CDC. He recently retired and made it clear that he has no intention of going back to work. When I asked him if he would be willing to help promote the truth about his study and fight against these dangerous lies, he told me that he would “rather work as a night watchman than spend any more time dealing with these people.” He did give me permission to quote him in an effort to clear up this egregious misreading of his study.
It is shocking how this movement’s leaders, their experts, fervently mislead their followers with distortions and blatant misinformation. Are they so blinded by conspiratorial hysteria that they are unable to be honest in their research? Are they frauds? I don’t know, but they are definitely wrong.
If you should encounter a misguided follower of this movement, you are hopefully inoculated now, better equipped to emotionally process their attacks. If they present you with studies and experts who "clearly" support them, remember that their information is likely misconstrued and based on sources who, as we have demonstrated, should not be trusted. Whatever terrifying arguments they present you with, remember that confidence and passion are not indicators of honest, capable research. So, vaccinate your kids, and thank G-d for the gift of modern medicine.
Rabbi Chanina Szendro is the Menahel of a local Baltimore Mesivta, Yeshivas Toras Chaim, located at 3407 Clarks Lane.
Footnotes:
2. Risher JF., Tucker P. (2017) Alkyl Mercury-Induced Toxicity: Multiple Mechanisms of Action. Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 2017;240:105-149 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27161558
3. https://www.forbes.com/sites/sciencebiz/2010/06/28/another-hero-of-the-anti-vaccine-movement-bites-the-dust/#340461d26549
https://leftbrainrightbrain.co.uk/2017/04/05/remember-the-fake-supplement-osr-1-its-still-being-developed/
https://www.autism-watch.org/reg/fda/haley/osr.shtml
4. The studies that Dr. Risher cites to show the various modes of harm caused by ethylmercury generally looked at cells in vitro, in test-tubes, that were drowned in very high concentrations of ethylmercury. They were not attempting to mirror the doses of mercury in vaccines or the conditions present when one receives mercury in a vaccine and can metabolize and clear it from the body.
For example, one study regarding the effects of ethylmercury on mitochondria, which Kennedy seems particularly excited about was done exactly in this way. You can see that study here:
Martyn A. Sharpe, Andrew D. Livingston, and David S. Baskin (2012) Thimerosal-Derived Ethylmercury Is a Mitochondrial Toxin in Human Astrocytes: Possible Role of Fenton Chemistry in the Oxidation and Breakage of mtDNA. Journal of Toxicology. 2012: 373678. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3395253/
5. Risher and Tucker write, "The difference in manifested toxicity of MeHg (methylmercury) and EtHg (ethylmercury) are likely the result of the differences in exposure, metabolism, and elimination from the body, rather than differences in mechanisms of action between the two."
7. Wu X., Liang H., O'Hara K. A., Yalowich J. C., Hasinoff B. B. (2008) Thiol-Modulated Mechanisms of the Cytotoxicity of Thimerosal and Inhibition of DNA Topoisomerase IIr, Chem. Res. Toxicol. 21, 483–493. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18197631
