all new vaccines for kids licensed since 1999 are free of thimerosal (except influenza).
Cessation of thimerosal use in Denmark and Sweden in 1992 prompted to conduct a before and after comparison of the incidence or case numbers of autism. In both countries, autism increases throughout the years 1987-1999, contrary to the decrease in autism that would be expected after 1992 if thimerosal exposure was related to autism. The increasing trend for autism is most notable in Denmark where the number of autism cases rises substantially even after the discontinuation of thimerosal use. The results were published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine (Aug 2003; 25(2):101-6).
CDC has an ongoing cooperative agreement with the Danish Medical Research Council. This cooperative agreement supports a collaborative research program with Danish researchers and provides opportunities for CDC to pursue causes of birth defects and developmental disabilities through Denmark’s unique public health data infrastructure. The Danish study, which followed more than 500,000 children, over 7 years, found no association between the MMR vaccination and autism. The results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine (2002; 347:1477) http://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/00_pdf/VSD_Chart_of_Autism_Studies-Updated_Aug_18_09.pdf
