Dear Immunization Colleagues:

Last week, IAC learned from a New York Times article (linked below) that ABC's debut episode of the legal drama "Eli Stone" features a script riddled with misinformation about the safety of routinely given childhood vaccines. In this program (scheduled to air Thursday, January 31, at 9 PM ET) lawyer Eli Stone sues a vaccine manufacturer on behalf of the mother of an autistic child. Stone argues that the mercury-containing preservative in a vaccine the child received caused the child's autism. At the end, the jury awards the mother $5.2 million.

IAC has telephoned and written a letter to ABC, urging the company's executives to cancel this episode. We encourage IAC Express readers who are concerned to do the same. To that end, talking points and contact information appear at the end of this IAC Express. In addition, we include links to letters IAC, AAP, and the American Medical Association sent to ABC, as well as links to material from other immunization organizations that will provide IAC readers with useful background information on the topic.

Sincerely,

Deborah L. Wexler, MD
Executive Director
Immunization Action Coalition


ABC CONTACT INFORMATION

Nicole Nichols
Senior Vice President of Entertainment Communications for "Eli Stone"
Email: Nicole.Nichols@abc.com
Phone: (818) 460-5267

Charissa Gilmore
Vice President of Media Relations for "Eli Stone"
Email: Charissa.Gilmore@abc.com
Phone: (818) 460-7950

POSSIBLE TALKING POINTS

• I urge (or my organization urges) you to cancel broadcast of this episode.
   
• This episode transmits the false belief that vaccines cause autism. They do not. Numerous scientific studies have investigated a possible link between thimerosal and autism. Scientific data overwhelmingly confirm that no connection exists between vaccines and autism. The most recent study showed that autism rates in California have continued to increase, even though thimerosal has been removed from all children's vaccines except for some influenza vaccines.
   
• The consequence of media dissemination of erroneous, unscientific information is a decline in childhood vaccination. This recently happened in Britain with the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine. The result was that unvaccinated children contracted measles, which caused many children to be hospitalized and some to die.
   
• This ABC broadcast will cause some parents to refuse to vaccinate their children, which can lead to serious illness, hospitalizations, and loss of lives.
   
• Autism is a heart-wrenching condition. When our nation's health resources are squandered by responding to media-generated misinformation such as that presented in this program, it means we have fewer resources available to find REAL causes, treatments, and cures for autism.

LINKS TO BACKGROUND RESOURCES REGARDING "ELI STONE"

To access the New York Times article "ABC Drama Takes on Science and Parents," click here.

To read the Immunization Action Coalition's letter to ABC, go to:
http://www.immunize.org/press/pr_abc.pdf

To read the American Academy of Pediatrics' press release about "Eli Stone," go to:
http://www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/jan08elistonerelease.htm

To read the American Academy of Pediatrics' letter to ABC, go to:
http://www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/LettertoABC.pdf

To read the American Medical Association's letter to ABC, go to:
http://www.ama-assn.org/ama1/pub/upload/mm/36/abc_wolfe.pdf

To view a preview of the January 31 episode of "Eli Stone," go to:
http://abc.go.com/primetime/elistone/index?pn=index?partner=google


LINKS TO BACKGROUND RESOURCES ABOUT VACCINE SAFETY

To access Every Child By Two's January 28 press release on vaccine safety, go to:
http://www.ecbt.org/news/pdf/Press%20Release%20012808.pdf

To access CDC's information on mercury and vaccines, go to:
http://www.cdc.gov/od/science/iso/concerns/thimerosal.htm

To access AAP's autism information, go to:
http://www.aap.org/healthtopics/autism.cfm

To access the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Vaccine EducationCenter's thimerosal information:
http://www.chop.edu/consumer/jsp/division/generic.jsp?id=75807

To access the National Network for Immunization Information's material on thimerosal/mercury, go to:
http://www.immunizationinfo.org/thimerosal_mercury_issues.cfm

To access IAC's collection of thimerosal information for healthcare professionals, go to: www.immunize.org/thimerosal

To access IAC's collection of information on thimerosal in vaccines for the public and healthcare professionals, go to:
www.vaccineinformation.org/thimerosal.asp