More on thimerosol and autism

Similarities between symptoms of autism and mercury poisoning

Rates of autism disorders rose 273 percent in California since 1987 (the year my oldest was born)

Infants at six months can have received up to nine vaccinations containing thimerosol in one visit.

"In 1998, the FDA reviewed thimerosal-containing products and found that 30 licensed vaccines contained thimerosal, which is 50% ethylmercury, and that with the number of vaccines given in the first 6 months of life the 1997 EPA guideline could potentially be exceeded. The FDA subsequently requested that vaccine manufacturers remove thimerosal, where possible, from vaccines. As of 2001, thimerosal in quantities sufficient to act as a preservative was removed from all vaccines in the childhood immunization schedule in the United States except some influenza vaccines."

It will be interesting to see the effects of this move on rates of autism disorders. Most people are betting that rates go down now that mercury in the form of thimerosol is no longer being used as a preservative in vaccines for children under seven.

That will be good news for the millions of children born since 2001. However, for those of us who vaccinated our children because we were told it was not only safe but necessary to their health, it's horrifying news. One of the most horrifying things a parent can have to live with is the knowledge that it was a decision on their part that led to the disease or disorder of their child.

Despite all the research that told them thimerosol was dangerous, they kept using it. They didn't tell us. In fact, in California, if you don't vaccinate your child they can't go to school. It's a law - and they knew what they were doing. When it became clear that there had to be a correlation between the vaccines and the 273 percent increase in the rates of autism spectrum disorders in California, they kept lying.

I vaccinated my children because their doctor's told me my children's health depended on it. In a way, they were right: my children's health did depend on the vaccines - on not getting them.