Controversy persists over thimerosal recommendation

According to the National Autism Association (NAA), CDC's decision to continue to recommend thimerosal-containing influenza vaccine to infants, children, and pregnant women is an outrage. At a February meeting of the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP), Jay Lieberman, M.D., presented, "Thimerosal, Reviewing the Evidence," and determined that the preservative-containing vaccine was still acceptable for use in these groups. NAA argued that Lieberman has acted as a consultant to the pharmaceutical companies that manufacture the influenza vaccine—Merck, Sanofi-Pasteur, and GlaxoSmithKline—and therefore possesses conflicts of interest. NAA said it requested that a counterpoint speaker without ties to the pharmaceutical industry attend the ACIP meeting to present peer-reviewed toxicological data, but the request was denied. Current CDC recommendations suggest flu shots for pregnant women and children ages six months through five years.

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