And the removal of thimerosal may result in short shelf lives for vaccines, which increases their cost. It also means that there is an increased chance of contaminants forming in the vaccine. The effects of these contaminants is also well known.
The anti-vaccination scaremongering shitballs have had over 5 years of thimerosol-free and there has been no change in the autism levels. But do they admit being wrong? Nooooooooo.
And as that link demonstrates, the symptoms of mercury toxicity are not those of autism.
It would be nice if the mercury militia could confine their activities to removing all their dental amalgam fillings (which contain a small amount of mercury and which are blamed for all sorts of chronic problems). There are actually people who’ve had painful and expensive procedures to yank out all of their fillings and replace them with non-amalgam types. Nutty as this is, at least it doesn’t have a significant impact on the rest of us.
I kind of like the phrase “mad as an antivaxer”. 
Because they just develop a new theory about how the vaccinations cause autism. Like that new one that Jennie McCarthy wrote a book about. Didn’t read it, so I don’t know the details, but it has something to do with the MMR vaccine causing infections in the digestive system, I think. She says she cured her son’s autism with a special diet. Once that one is debunked, they’ll come up with another one. Typical conspiracy theory.
Uh, so to speak.
I haven’t read it either but I have heard the book discussed. It sounds like she’s referencing the discredited work of Andrew Wakefield. His flawed study made the same measles vaccine in the gut argument.
There are at least four modes of mercury exposure:
Vapor(Elemental Mercury)
Inorganic Salts Containing Mercury
Methylmercury - The kind you generally get from fish and the environment
Ethylmercury - The kind you get from thimerisol
The fact is that we know something about mercury vapor and methylmercury, but not much at all about ethylmercury.
At this point, every single FDA-recommended pediatric vaccine, including the flu shots, is now available in a thimerisol-free form. The motivation was precautionary, and not any sort of evidence-based reason. At no point has the FDA found a causal relationship between thimerisol and neurodevelopmental problems.
The doses are tiny in vaccines cranked out in the past 25 years or so.
In short: we don’t if mercury is a problem with ASD. We don’t know when a critical dose of mercury would be required to cause NDs and we don’t understand the pharmicokinetics of the at least four types of mercury compounds.
Your previous points are well taken but they don’t lead to this conclusion.
Frankly, the vaccine-mercury “link” has been studied to death and the accumulated evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates no link. Increasingly, the question is whether continued study of this issue is diverting resources away from promising lines of research into autism (i.e. genetic triggers), and encourages practitioners offering potentially dangerous pseudocures (chelation therapy to remove supposed mercury buildup - there’s been at least one child death so far blamed on this procedure).
It’s not realistic to say that “we don’t know if mercury is a problem with autistic spectrum disorders”.
From an evidence-based standpoint, we have arguably passed the point of reasonable doubt on this score and need to focus autism research elsewhere. You could have another 20 studies clearing vaccines and never convince the mercury militia and hard-core antivaxers. They have too much invested in their conspiracy theories.
Everyone knows that NASA really sent that probe to a soundstage in New Mexico.
I mean, this idiot (kennedy) is probably guilty of reckless disregard of the truth. With the idiotic articles he’s wriiten, he probably caused a lot of parents to omit vaccinating their kids.
Too bad somebody doesn’t do this and set an example!
Quartz
Well, here’s yet another nail in the theory of mercury causing autism.
Are you going to give it up now? Or will you make some other kind of slippery excuse?
Testy
I wonder if these same people would turn down the rabies needles after being bitten by a rabid animal, mercury or no.
There’s only one end result of untreated rabies. The important word being “end.”
Well I do beg your pardon. Kindly point out where I supported the position that mercury causes autism. I pointed out - with cite - that mercury is linked to mental deficiency, not autism. Kindly fuck off and learn to read.
There is just as much evidence that the phrase has nothing to do with mercury poisoning.
Good news story here on the TV show with the vaccine-autism story line. It quotes a vaccine researcher, Dr. Peter Hotez, who also has an autistic daughter:
*"“The claims of anti-vaccine groups fly in the face of overwhelming scientific evidence,” said Hotez. “It’s like religious fanaticism believing that mercury causes autism, and it’s very frustrating for me because it distracts away from our genetic research efforts and services for our kids.” *
To tell you the truth, I was wondering just what the hell your point was myself. Is there anyone on this board that isn’t aware of Mercury poisoning? They taught me that in 7th grade, and I’m old and went to Catholic schools. Perhaps in the future, you might hint at what your post has to do with the topic.
The first “study” implicating vaccination and autism was a report by a physician about 12 patients. Nothing wrong with that, just keep that in mind. Dr. Wakefield, the physician, had no double blind technique, and no other case studies. He was reporting a possible link, based on a very small sample.
Dr. Madsen, et. al. in subsequent studies of mercury, and separate examinations of MMR vaccines without mercury involved half a million subjects, and a million and a half subject years of follow up data. The results of those studies show that people who were never vaccinated have virtually identical rates for autism as those who were, and the presence of mercury based preservatives in vaccines was not associated with an increase in autism. Further, and most notably, when mercury was removed, the rates of autism increased by an amount that is notable. That increase may have come from other causes, contemporaneous, but unassociated with the changes in vaccine formulary.
Tris
Semi-hijack. One thing which burns me up about anti-vacciners is, of course, that they’ve no concept of risk or consequences. I have a cousin who is permanently brain-damaged from meningitis. He’s basically helpless. While not a vegetable, he can’t talk or think in any way we recognize. He seems to understand basic speech, and hugs at least. Even his boyd movments are stilted and awkward. He’s now something like 40 years old, and he’ll never be independant. I have no idea what will happen when his parents die.
When I was young I wondred whether he was just born that way. But to know that he was once a bright, happy child, and that a disease left him like this. That’s just not right. And the fact that these idiots are attempting to bypass the safeties that prevent everyone from getting this is sickening in the extreme.
He was doing this in the face of contradictory evidence from his own lab, with the aid of large payments from a lawyers group hoping to cash in on lawsuits, and his own co-authors have disavowed his Lancet paper.
**Bolding mine.
Quartz
Granted. For a minute there I thought you were one of those idiots that think thymerosol causes autism. Assuming you’re not, then never mind.
Testy
I admit I didn’t follow this show with a close eye… but are you sure?
My recollection is that Rebecca was the receptionist in the first season, and then it was revealed she’d been going to law school nights when she announced she’d passed the bar… only subsequent to that was she made a partner (and permitted to handle cases. as well). This was when new recptionist Lucy came on the scene. No?
As an aisde… I find it mildly humorous that these firms always are portrayed as “making” someone a partner; never once do they mention any buy-in or how such an expense might be financed. Are these successful firms waiving nay buy-in costs for their new “partners?” As an existing partner, I’d be pretty pissed.