Rain Man

First of all, sorry for the long absence. My other life has been taking up most of my time. Now down to business.

Jake Tapper reported that John McCain recently declared that "'there’s strong evidence' that thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative that was once in many childhood vaccines, is responsible for the increased diagnoses of autism in the U.S."

This is an argument I know something about and it's totally bogus. As Tapper reported, there is a loud (although I'm not sure they're large) group of people out there who aim to convince legislators that thimerosal is responsible for autism. The argument has worked to convince people like Don Imus, who preaches about the cause with his wife on his radio show.

But as Tapper also reported, the medical community, running on facts and research and not emotion, says there's nothing to this connection between thimerosal and autism. From Tapper:

The Centers for Disease Control says "There is no convincing scientific evidence of harm caused by the low doses of thimerosal in vaccines, except for minor reactions like redness and swelling at the injection site."

The American Academy of Pediatrics says"No scientific data link thimerosal used as a preservative in vaccines with any pediatric neurologic disorder, including autism."

The Food and Drug Administration conducted a review in 1999 -- the year thimerosal was ordered to be removed from most vaccines -- and said that it "found no evidence of harm from the use of thimerosal as a vaccine preservative, other than local hypersensitivity reactions."

The Institute of Medicine’s Immunization Safety Review Committee concluded "that the body of epidemiological evidence favors rejection of a causal relationship between thimerosal-containing vaccines and autism."

And a study of California Department of Developmental Services data published last month indicated that there was "an increase in autism in California despite the removal of thimerosal from most vaccines."