Using fear to fight vaccine scare tactics doesn't help parents
 

   Kathy Read's June 28 Forum on vaccine scares provides an opportunity for dialogue and counterpoint. She forgets to tell us of the many families who have had a child experience an adverse reaction to a vaccine - check out The National Vaccine Information Center ( www.909shot.com  ) and the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System ( www.vaers.org ).
   She argues that without widespread availability to vaccines, childhood diseases would stage a comeback. I submit diseases could make a comeback, but most cases of measles today occur in vaccinated populations and none of the ''routine'' vaccines confer lifelong immunity.
   She offers the recommendation to remove the ethylmercury-based preservative Thimerosal from infant vaccines was precautionary for no evidence showed it to be unsafe in the amounts used. This might be a silly question, but is there a safe level of mercury to inject into an infant? Also, a recent report in the Journal of the American Association of Physicians and Surgeons concluded mercury from Thimerosal did exceed Federal Safety Guidelines and that ''strong epidemiological evidence'' exists for a link between increasing mercury from Thimerosal-containing vaccines and disorders such as autism.
   While the Thimerosal issue may have attracted attorneys, lawsuits are nothing new for vaccine manufacturers. Millions have been paid out in compensation for vaccine injuries since 1990, and thousands of suits are pending. Pursuing a claim through the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program offers limited benefits and certainly the author isn't suggesting vaccine manufacturers are in the business for the children. Finally, all parents want only the best for their innocent and trusting children and are entitled to make informed decisions, so Ms. Read would be better served by not using scare tactics to lecture about scare tactics.

Published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Thursday, July 10, 2003.