Deadly Immunity

RFK Jr.'s article in Salon continues his crusade against Thimerosal- containing vaccines. "You can play with this all you want," Dr. Bill Weil, a consultant for the American Academy of Pediatrics, told a group of top government scientists and health officials in June 2000 who were gathered for a meeting at the isolated Simpsonwood conference center in Norcross, Ga. The results "are statistically significant." Dr. Richard Johnston, an immunologist and pediatrician from the University of Colorado whose grandson had been born early on the morning of the meeting's first day, was even more alarmed. "My gut feeling?" he said. "Forgive this personal comment -- I do not want my grandson to get a thimerosal-containing vaccine until we know better what is going on." But instead of taking immediate steps to alert the public and rid the vaccine supply of thimerosal, the officials and executives at Simpsonwood spent most of the next two days discussing how to cover up the damaging data. According to transcripts obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, many at the meeting were concerned about how the damaging revelations about thimerosal would affect the vaccine industry's bottom line.