Defending thimerosal

I found a computer with net access in my hotel so I have time for a quick update.

Slate has an article up today which does a good job of responding to the concerns over thimerosal's safety which have been raised by environmental activist Robert Kennedy jr.

Thought of the day: Wisdom is the knowledge of one's own ignorance - me (with a nod to Socrates)

Bob Carrol comments on thimerosal

Bob Carroll, the author of the Skeptic's Dictionary featured in the Links section, has offered some strong criticism of Robert Kennedy's Deadly Immunity article which alleged that the government hid data revealing a potential link between thimerosal and autism. Skeptico blog provides the link and offers some commentary.

Reading through these critiques and looking into the matter more thoroughly I am reminded of the importance of not allowing personal bias to lead us to draw premature conclusions, something I think I myself was guilty of for posting a link to Kennedy's article without checking to see if his accusations had any merit.

Deadly Immunity - a critical response

Deadly Immunity, the Robert Kennedy Jr. article about thimerosal and its purported link to autism which I linked to previously, has generated a fair amount of criticism from both the medical and skeptical community. Believing it important to consider all sides of an issue, here is a link to a fellow blogger and skeptic who responds critically to Kennedy's piece (and if you go to the main page you can find several further posts on the same subject.)

And for pertinent studies, go to Pubmed and enter this search: "thimerosal autism."