Vaccination lawsuit will not affect Athens

by Casey Clapper
For The Post

Athens County residents are experiencing little change as a result of lawsuits filed across the nation against pharmaceutical industries.

The lawsuits were filed by a coalition of law firms in reaction to an Oregon incident in which a vaccine containing thimerosal might have caused a young boy to become autistic. Cases were filed in nine states Oct 2.

Thimerosal is a preservative added to vaccines to eliminate bacterial elements. It previously has been used as a preservative in childhood vaccines, including Hepatitis B, Measles Mumps Rubella, and diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis since the 1930s.

The thimerosal preservative is not a concern for residents in Athens.

"Most infant and childhood vaccines contain little, if any, preservative," said Lynn Smith, Coordinator of the Childhood Immunization Program at Community Service Programs at the Ohio University's College of Osteopathic Medicine.

James R. Gaskell, a pediatrician in Athens for 31 years, agrees that thimerosal is no longer a problem.

"Most vaccines given in the first year of life no longer contain thimerosal," Gaskell said. "DTaP, MMR, Hepatitis B, the chicken pox vaccine, none of these have preservatives."

Even if vaccines do contain thimerosal, the cumulative doses are not higher than FDA regulations, he said.

The main concern with thimerosal is its mercury content. In July 1999, the American Academy of Pediatrics investigated the safe levels of mercury in thimerosal. Although no significant reactions to mercury were reported, the AAP decided to reduce thimerosal usage as a precaution, Smith said.

GlaxoSmithKline, one defendant in the lawsuit, is a leading research-based pharmaceutical company that distributes vaccines worldwide. The company continues to believe that the benefits of vaccines worldwide outweigh any theoretical risk, said Carmel Hogan, communications director for GSK.

"At GSK, none of the vaccines currently manufactured by GSK for the United States contain the preservative thimerosal," Hogan said.

GSK is in compliance with the Institute of Medicine Report issued last week, said Hogan.

Sigma Chemical Co., another defendant in the lawsuit, uses thimerosal for research purposes and development.

"We do not sell materials for human use," said Rodney Kelley, vice president of safety and compliance at Sigma Chemical Co.

The company is unsure as to why they are involved in the lawsuit because they do not sell thimerosal or vaccines to people, he said.

Vaccines have long been linked to many childhood disabilities, including autism, simply because of the time frame in which childhood vaccines are administered.