Flu Drug Tamiflu May Cause Odd Behavior in Children

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"Children can have very serious disease from influenza," Gerberding said. "The flu shot is the best way to protect them, there's no doubt about that. Concerns about thimerosal are on the minds of many parents. We have not been able to identify any data that indicates a flu shot poses any risk associated with thimerosal."

The CDC chief believes the benefits of vaccination are too important to ignore. "If you are balancing the benefit of immunization with what is an unknown or no-risk situation from thimerosal, it seems clear to me what needs to be done," Gerberding said. "That's why we in the public-health community are encouraging parents to get their kids vaccinated. The risk of flu far outweighs any theoretical complications from the vaccine."

In related news, a study in the Nov. 13 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine finds that the flu vaccine slightly increases the risk of Guillain-Barre syndrome, which occurs when the body's immune system attacks part of the nervous system, resulting in tingling or weakness and possible paralysis.

"This study has findings that are consistent with findings that were published a few years ago," Gerberding said. "These findings indicate that there is an increased risk of about one in a million of Guillain-Barre syndrome cases among those who are vaccinated, compared to those who are not vaccinated. But when we compare the risks associated with influenza infection with the risk of Guillain-Barre syndrome, we see that the risk of not being vaccinated far outweighs the risk for Guillain-Barre syndrome," she said.

One expert thinks the flu vaccine is safe and effective, and that thimerosal is not really a problem, compared with the potential consequences of flu.

"We have environmental concerns, but to put it all on thimerosal based on an unproven association is really the wrong way to go," said Dr. Marc Siegel, a clinical associate professor of medicine at New York University School of Medicine, and author of Bird Flu: Everything You Need to Know About the Next Pandemic. "I am satisfied that there has never been an association shown between thimerosal and autism."

Each year in the United States, as much as 20 percent of the population can get the flu, more than 200,000 people are hospitalized from flu complications, and about 36,000 people die from the disease, according to the CDC.

More information

For more on the flu and flu vaccines, visit the CDC (www.cdc.gov ).