“Vaccine Court” to decide on autism case
About 4800 parents of autistic children believe their children’s autism is a result of vaccination.
Their theory is that thimerosal, a mercury-containing preservative once included in many vaccines and removed from most in 1999, can combine with the measles, mumps and rubella vaccination to damage the immune system. This damage, they said, can lead to autism, a developmental disorder characterized by speech and often severe social impairments.
The petitioners want access to the $2.5-billion Vaccine Injury Compensation Trust Fund established by Congress two decades ago, and have brought their case to the Vaccine Court.
An arm of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the vaccine court consists of judges, called special masters, who determine whether people who say they or their children have been harmed by vaccines deserve compensation.
On June 26, three special masters finished listening to the first case in the Omnibus Autism Proceedings, brought by the parents of Michelle Cedillo, 12, of Arizona. In large part, the hearing served as a time for each side — the families and experts retained by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services — to present its first argument.
The court is expected to hear three tests and then make a ruling on those. If they side with the parents, the court is likely to set up a framework for compensation to the others.