Dr. Andrew Zimmerman, MD, is a world renown board certified pediatric neurologist specializing in autism. He was the director of the center for autism at Johns Hopkins medical school. His AB is from Princeton and his MD from Columbia University. He was an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins and Harvard and a clinical professor at the University of Massachusetts. His CV, which appears in the linked article, is kind of mind blowing. He has had quite a career. His qualifications are top notch.
In 2007, he was an expert witness for the Department of Health and Human Services in the Omnibus Autism Proceeding under the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. He told government lawyers that while in general there is no evidence of an association between the MMR vaccine and autism, "there were exceptions in which vaccinations could cause autism." He elaborated, "More specifically, I explained that a subset of children with an underlying mitochondrial dysfunction, vaccine-induced fever and immune stimulation that exceeded metabolic energy reserves could, and in at least one of my patients, did cause regressive encephalopathy with features of autism spectrum disorder." (The comments are confirmed in an affidavit by Dr. Zimmerman).
So there you have it. If anybody claims that the MMR can cause autism, you can't call them an anti-science wacko who is a victim of propaganda. The question of frequency and the odds of it happening is a separate question and an important one. In medicine, one has to weigh risk-reward against the odds of each happening. But the hateful rhetoric against people who question the safety of vaccines really is out of line, particularly the claim that such people are anti-science, crazy, or illogical. When mothers say the kid was fine until the vaccine, they really might be right about that.
The following article claims that the government covered up this part of Dr. Zimmerman's testimony. After the excerpt, I will link to the Respectful Insolence blog, which contains the very disrespectful diatribes of one Dr. David Gorski, MD, a very pro-vax surgeon who I hesitate to trust because his arrogance is so beyond the bounds of acceptability even for a physician. Neverthless, I try at least at times to share both sides of the story here, so I'm sharing his side.
Government’s Own Pro-vaccine Medical Expert Admits There is a Vaccine-Autism Link That is Being Covered Up
Excerpt:
So there you have it. If anybody claims that the MMR can cause autism, you can't call them an anti-science wacko who is a victim of propaganda. The question of frequency and the odds of it happening is a separate question and an important one. In medicine, one has to weigh risk-reward against the odds of each happening. But the hateful rhetoric against people who question the safety of vaccines really is out of line, particularly the claim that such people are anti-science, crazy, or illogical. When mothers say the kid was fine until the vaccine, they really might be right about that.
The following article claims that the government covered up this part of Dr. Zimmerman's testimony. After the excerpt, I will link to the Respectful Insolence blog, which contains the very disrespectful diatribes of one Dr. David Gorski, MD, a very pro-vax surgeon who I hesitate to trust because his arrogance is so beyond the bounds of acceptability even for a physician. Neverthless, I try at least at times to share both sides of the story here, so I'm sharing his side.
Government’s Own Pro-vaccine Medical Expert Admits There is a Vaccine-Autism Link That is Being Covered Up
Excerpt:
Earlier this year (2019) investigative independent journalist Sharyl Attkisson ran a report on Dr. Andrew Zimmerman, a world-renowned pediatric neurologist whom the U.S. Government used in 2007 to testify in the U.S. Vaccine Court that vaccines did not cause autism.
However, Dr. Zimmerman also stated in an affidavit that vaccines can cause autism in a certain subset of children, but that testimony was suppressed.
From Dr. Zimmerman's affidavit:
From Dr. Zimmerman's affidavit:
8. I explained that I was of the opinion that there were exceptions in which vaccinations could cause autism.
9. More specifically, I explained that a subset of children with an underlying mitochondrial dysfunction, vaccine-induced fever and immune stimulation that exceeded metabolic energy reserves could, and in at least one of my patients, did cause regressive encephalopathy with features of autism spectrum disorder.
10. I explained that my opinion regarding exceptions in which vaccines could cause autism was based upon advances in science, medicine, and clinical research of one of my patients in particular.
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