The Department of Health (DOH) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) officials yesterday hit back at media and consumer groups who have questioned the safety of influenza vaccines that contain mercury.
Following extensive front-page coverage in the United Evening News linking flu vaccines containing thimerosal (a mercury-containing organic compound) with autism, the CDC have issued a complaint to the paper.
Other media outlets have since followed up on the story.
The Consumers' Foundation also held a news conference yesterday calling on parents of autistic children who have received vaccines containing thimerosal to contact the foundation in order to get help suing the government for compensation.
"The government should not be using our children as lab rats," said Cheng Jen-hung (程仁宏) of the Consumers' Foundation.
"The vaccines we provide come with the government's approval and guarantee," DOH Chief Hou Sheng-mou (侯盛茂), said. "Should anybody be harmed by them, the government will of course take full responsibility."
"But who will take responsibility for the harm caused to children because their parents didn't have them vaccinated?" Hou said.
Free influenza vaccines given to first and second grade students use thimerosal as a preservative. While health officials say that there is no scientific evidence supporting such claims, speculation linking autism and thimerosal have emerged again and again in the news.
The United Evening News led the media coverage with a front-page story on Monday with the headline "Do you know there is mercury in flu vaccines?"
The entire third page was also devoted to the topic, including a story entitled "Mercury is poison, who will be responsible if children are sensitive to it?"
"Media reports have had an effect on parents' attitudes," said Ting Chi-wen (丁奇文), a pediatrician at Shu-tien Clinic. "They do not want to take even a small risk with their child."
Most parents in her practice opt to pay for mercury-free vaccines at a cost of around NT$500 over the free vaccines provided by the government, Ting said.
However, she said she is worried that a percentage of parents are choosing to delay vaccination of their children altogether as they weigh up the costs and benefits.
"I tell parents to choose the mercury-free vaccine if they want peace of mind, but the important thing is that the child is vaccinated," Ting said.
The Sept. 27 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine published an article on thimerosal exposure that did not find a causal association between thimerosal and a deficit in neuropsychological function at the age of seven to 10 years.
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
A white king snake that frightened passengers and caused a stir on a Taipei MRT train on Friday evening has been claimed by its owner, who would be fined, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. A person on Threads posted that he thought he was lucky to find an empty row of seats on Friday after boarding a train on the Bannan (Blue) Line, only to spot a white snake with black stripes after sitting down. Startled, he jumped up, he wrote, describing the encounter as “terrifying.” “Taipei’s rat control plan: Release snakes on the metro,” one person wrote in reply, referring
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
An inauguration ceremony was held yesterday for the Danjiang Bridge, the world’s longest single-mast asymmetric cable-stayed bridge, ahead of its official opening to traffic on Tuesday, marking a major milestone after nearly three decades of planning and construction. At the ceremony in New Taipei City attended by President William Lai (賴清德), Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰), Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) and New Taipei City Mayor Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜), the bridge was hailed as both an engineering landmark and a long-awaited regional transport link connecting Tamsui (淡水) and Bali (八里)
RSS