Can mercury in vaccines cause brain damage, retardation, autism, attention deficit disorder, learning disorders?
In the past, mercury was present in some vaccines in the form of thimerosal. Thimerosal is an organic mercury compound that has been used as a preservative in some vaccines and other medications since the 1930s. There is no evidence that the presence of thimerosal in vaccines causes brain damage in children. Large studies in which some children received vaccines containing thimerosal and received thimerosal-free vaccines showed no difference in the number of children who developed autism. As of March 2001, all vaccines for routine immunization of children in Canada and the United States are produced without thimerosal. Thimerosal is a preservative used in the production of vaccines that are stored in vials (containers) that have more than one dose. These are the vaccines used for mass immunization programs, such as influenza (given annually at a specific time of year to many Canadians). While the influenza vaccine is made in single-vial units as well-without thimerosal-it may not be av
