US govt concedes an autism-vaccine case in federal court

[My team is injured]

I had a hard time finding a good article that was covering this so I just picked this one, which was short and direct enough, but there's plenty of other sources on the net if you want to read more about the case...

from http://www.nbc4.com/health/15516661/detail.html

Government officials ruled childhood vaccines exacerbated a rare disorder in a 9-year-old girl and caused the symptoms of autism in what is being called a landmark decision.

"It is gratifying to finally have a court agree her injury was caused by vaccination," said Jon Polling, 9-year-old Hannah Polling's father.

Government health officials have conceded that childhood vaccines contributed to Hannah's autism by aggravating a rare mitochondrial disorder. It is the first time the government has admitted the possibility of a link between vaccines and autism. But, officials maintained that the data does not prove vaccines cause autism directly.

Experts warned that Hannah's case is rare and may be an exception rather than a rule.

"So you can't generalize and say, 'OK, now every child with a mitochondrial disorder is going to go through same thing that Hannah did,'" said Dr. Jennifer Shu, of American Academy of Pediatrics.

There is still much that is unknown and more research to be done, but with about 5,000 other cases currently in the justice system and millions of children being vaccinated, it is a case being watched closely.

Hannah's parents said they are not against vaccines.

"We are absolutely pro-vaccine," said Hannah's mother, Terry Polling. "What we want is safe vaccines."

Hannah's parents said they fear other families could experience what they have.

"We don't think our story is as unique as many people would lead you to believe," Jon Polling said.

It will now be up to the courts to decide how many other cases are truly like Hannah's, but many feel she has already changed this debate forever.

One of the key suspects in the autism-vaccine debate -- the preservative thimerasol -- has been removed from many vaccines but is still used in some flu vaccines.

Most doctors say children still need to get vaccines to protect them against deadly diseases.

you can read the report and concession from the govt at this link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-kir ... 88558.html

Medical personnel at the Division of Vaccine Injury Compensation, Department of Health and Human Services (DVIC) have reviewed the facts of this case, as presented by the petition, medical records, and affidavits. After a thorough review, DVIC has concluded that compensation is appropriate in this case.

In sum, DVIC has concluded that the facts of this case meet the statutory criteria for demonstrating that the vaccinations CHILD received on July 19, 2000, significantly aggravated an underlying mitochondrial disorder, which predisposed her to deficits in cellular energy metabolism, and manifested as a regressive encephalopathy with features of autism spectrum disorder.

[houstonherdfan]

I would bet more will come out because Autism is becoming out of the largest issue with babies. Aprox 1 in 100 babies born in the US have some form of autism. Some more pronounced than others.

I have an 19 year old with autism. About 60% of his fellow students in his special needs class are autisitc.