Sentinel staff report–
A Citrus Heights man was arrested on Monday for disrupting an out-of-state congressional debate where video shows him walking on stage and yelling “vaccines cause autism” into a microphone.
Newsweek published a story about the incident, including video from a local news station showing the man walk up to the podium where Utah Republican Congressman Chris Stewart was speaking during a Sept. 17 debate. The mic was quickly cut off before the man could make his full statement and he was later arrested for disrupting an official meeting and causing public alarm.
The man was identified as Corbin McMillen, whose arrest record shows he is a resident of Citrus Heights. It was unclear why McMillen was in Utah at the forum, or whether the forum topics included discussion of vaccinations.
According to Newsweek, the congressman said he initially thought McMillen “was a technician coming to fix his microphone before he blurted out his opposition to vaccinations.”
Vaccine skeptics are often vocal about alleged connections between vaccinations and autism and have gained some notable supporters, including Hollywood actress Jenny McCarthy, who says her son was diagnosed with autism following a series of vaccinations when he was 2 1/2 years old.
However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says studies “continue to show vaccines are not associated with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder).” The CDC also says vaccines in general are a “safe and effective” way to prevent serious diseases, but acknowledges they can cause serious side effects.
In the 1980s, after lawsuits against vaccine manufacturers and health care providers threatened to reduce U.S. vaccination rates, the federal government set up a National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program to provide financial compensation to individuals found to have been injured by certain vaccines. The program is often called “vaccine court,” as it involves decisions from the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.
In the latest fiscal year, the federal Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA) reported the vaccine injury program authorized compensation for 706 claims, with total payout just over $282 million in fiscal year 2017. Citing historical data from the CDC, the HRSA says “for every 1 million doses of vaccine that were distributed, 1 individual was compensated.”
