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David Geier, a steadfast figure in the anti-vaccine movement, has joined the Department of Health and Human Services to work on a study examining the long-debunked theory of a link between vaccines and autism. Geier has published numerous articles in the medical literature attempting to tie mercury in vaccines to autism.
David Geier is a brilliant, extremely knowledgeable researcher with deep expertise on mercury, according to Mary Holland, chief executive of Children’s Health Defense. However, federal judges have rejected Geier’s research on autism and vaccines as too unreliable to stand up in court.
Experts have expressed concerns about Geier’s role in the agency, calling it a “conflict of interest” and saying that it “preordains the outcome” of the study. “You’d think you’d want a fresh eye,” said Edward L. Hunter, a former head of the Washington office of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Many scientists believe the rise in autism diagnoses is due in part to increased awareness of the disorder and changes in how it is diagnosed by medical professionals.
David Geier is listed in the Department of Health and Human Services directory as a “senior data analyst.” News of his role in the agency was initially reported by The Washington Post.
In a Rolling Stone article, Kennedy credited Geier with being among the few who had gained access to C.D.C. vaccine data, which he said they used to “demonstrate a powerful correlation between thimerosal and neurological damage in children.”
The Geiers have published no fewer than thirteen epidemiological studies of the associations between Thimerosal and health effects in U.S. populations, employing accepted statistical practices, according to Kennedy.
However, an extensive review of the purported link between vaccines and autism in 2004 by the Institute of Medicine, an elite group of doctors and researchers, panned the Geiers’ studies. The review found their work to be marred by flaws “making their results uninterpretable.”
Judges have rejected the Geiers’ efforts to serve as experts on vaccine safety in court. A mother of a 10-year-old boy with autism balked when Geier reportedly ordered 24 different blood tests for her son. His father, Mark Geier, lost his medical license in 2012.
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