By Sarah Green
KHI News Service
TOPEKA, March 22
The first bill filed this year may have had one of the last hearings in the Kansas Senate.
The Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee Thursday afternoon heard Senate Bill 1, which would phase out the use of mercury-based preservatives used in vaccines.
Sen. Dennis Wilson, R-Overland Park, and Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley of Topeka, introduced the legislation after hearing from parents concerned about news of a potential connection between thimerosal, the mercury-based preservative, and autism in children.
“I would ask you to consider this: If there is one chance in a million that this could be happening, would you want to take that chance with your family?” Wilson said in his testimony.
Opponents to the legislation said the scientific evidence supporting the claims was shaky at best.
“To date there has been no good evidence that associates thimerosal and autism or any illnesses,” said Dr. Jo-Ann Harris, a pediatrician who specializes in infections diseases at the University of Kansas Medical Center, who noted that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics continue to recommend the use of vaccines that contain thimerosal. “But the myth still persists.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have found no link between thimerosal and autism.
“There is no conclusive evidence that any vaccine or vaccine additive increases the risk of developing autism or any other behavior disorder. Rather, evidence is accumulating of lack of any harm resulting from exposure to vaccine containing thimerosal as a preservative,” the CDC noted on their online fact sheet concerning thimerosal.
However, vaccine manufacturers have found other ways to manufacture certain vaccines without using the preservative. Thimerosal is used in some vaccines, including some for influenza that are distributed in multi-dose vials. It prevents bacteria from growing inside the vial as multiple needles draw the vaccine.
Hensley and Wilson worked with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to amend the bill; the amendments were briefly discussed but no action was taken on the amendment or on the bill.
Sen. Jim Barnett, R-Emporia, said there were too many questions and concerns from the committee to take a vote this session. Thursday was the last day of hearings for his committee. The bill will remain alive until next session, he said.
This was Hensley and Wilson”s second attempt to introduce the bill. The previous version died last year with no action taken.
-Sarah Green is a staff writer for KHI News Service, which specializes in coverage of health issues facing Kansans. She can be reached at
sgreen@khi.org
or at 785-233-5443, ext. 118.