The concern over a possible link between mercury and the growing number of autistic children in America has once again focused attention on U.S. vaccination policy.

Alarm about the amount of mercury in our bodies has been growing for years. One of the major ways this has occurred is through vaccination. Many of the common childhood vaccines, including DPT (diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus), hepatitis B and meningitis, contain the preservative Thimerosal, a form of mercury compound. Although the amounts used seem to be minuscule, there are worries that the cumulative effect of the mercury in these vaccines is a factor in the increase in autism.

Enough concern has arisen for pharmaceutical companies to begin eliminating Thimerosal from certain vaccines. Also, in June 2000, a number of medical groups, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, recommended the removal of Thimerosal. During a recent federal hearing, the FDA admitted that children are being exposed to unsafe levels of mercury through vaccines containing Thimerosal.

Underlying much of the scientific debate are the political and financial consequences of American vaccination policy. If mercury is found definitively to have been a factor in causing autism, then vaccine manufacturers and the government could be held legally responsible. There have been attempts in the last year to pass bills exonerating vaccine manufacturers from legal responsibility, even though they already enjoy some immunity from individual liability. This culminated in a rider slipped into the legislation that created the Homeland Security Department that exempted vaccine manufacturers from liability from any damage from any vaccines, not just the smallpox vaccine.

The controversy over mercury does not stop with vaccines. For many years, the use of mercury in dental fillings has been questioned, and there is ample scientific evidence of the risk in eating deep-sea fish due to mercury toxicity. The FDA recommends eating only a few ounces of such fish each week, and for pregnant women to be especially cautious.

As with other heavy metals such as lead, it is clear that exposure in relatively small amounts can lead to developmental damage, and that the most vulnerable are babies in the womb and young children. It is becoming increasingly clear that while evidence accumulates linking mercury to autism and other conditions, vaccine manufacturers, dental organizations and others are fighting a rear-guard action, denying any link until they escape legal responsibility.

Given the evidence, why is there now a movement to give babies and pregnant women the flu vaccine, which still contains Thimerosal? (Thimerosal has not yet been removed from all vaccines.) Two to three years ago, the vaccine was recommended only for those at risk of complications from the flu, predominantly the elderly. Now, it is being given routinely to virtually everybody. In the last 20 years, the number of vaccine antigens (disease agents) recommended for children has already increased from 25 to 77. What is the rationale and what are the scientific data to justify another one?

Although the official policy is to give the flu vaccine only to high-risk babies susceptible to other diseases, such as asthma, the vaccine is now being given routinely to many other children. The recommendation for pregnant women to get the vaccine is equally questionable, and no adequate studies have been conducted to monitor safety for mother and child. Even the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have said that "additional data are needed to confirm the safety of vaccine during pregnancy."

From a commonsense point of view, young babies are not at risk from the flu,

especially when healthy and when being breast-fed. It is ironic that while manufacturers are taking Thimerosal out of some vaccines, doctors are increasing by giving the flu vaccine containing it.