Could thimerosal be the culprit?

In my previous post, I discussed the idea there there wasn't really any scientific evidence supporting the claim that vaccinations cause autism. In this post, I will research the claims made, and discover why people are believing something like this to be true.

According to an article published in 2009 by Mike Adams, the editor for NaturalNews.com, thimerosal may be a contributor. Thimerosal is a mercury-based compound that is found in some vaccines that acts as a preservative. Thimerosal has been removed from childhood vaccines, however, and is said to be present in some flu vaccines. This article also states that there is belief that nurses who administer shots are still using unexpired vials that contain thimerosal. 

For my second article, I decided to research more about thimerosal since that is what my previous article discussed. I found an article from ScienceDaily that I decided to use as my second source for this blog post. This article discusses the fact that by 2001, thimerosal had been eliminated from most vaccines. Along with the studies they did, the researchers have determined that the Institute of Medicine has rejected the hypothesis that the MMR vaccine and thimerosal have  any link to autism. 

After reading both articles, I'm still uncertain as to whether or not anything in vaccinations contribute to autism. The mercury level in vaccines that contain thimerosal are so tiny that I can't see that being such a huge issue. I think whatever causes autism is something so much greater than a minor level of mercury, of which most vaccines have gotten rid of. For my next post, I want to look at a scientific article off of the library database.

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