Mercury in Childhood Vaccines Excreted Quickly

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Still, at least one vaccine critic worries that inoculations are making children prone to autism, a developmental disorder characterized by impaired social interaction, communication problems, and unusual, repetitive, or severely limited activities and interests. And if it's not thimerosal, then it must be some other vaccine-related interaction, said Barbara Loe Fisher, co-founder and president of the National Vaccine Information Center.

"There are many biological mechanisms involved in vaccine-induced brain and immune system changes that could quite well lead to autism," she said.

"Mercury doesn't belong in any product," Fisher added. "Mercury doesn't belong in vaccines whether it's proven or not proven that mercury is a problem in vaccines."

In ABC's new TV series Eli Stone, the premiere Thursday focuses on a lawyer arguing that a vaccine caused a child's autism. While the show includes statements that science has refuted a link between autism and vaccines, the program reinforces the connection as the jury awards the mother $5.2 million, according to the AAP.

"If parents watch this program and choose to deny their children immunizations, ABC will share in the responsibility for the suffering and deaths that occur as a result. The consequences of a decline in immunization rates could be devastating to the health of our nation's children," AAP President Dr. Renee R. Jenkins said in a prepared statement.

More information

For more on thimerosal and autism, visit the The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.