Vaccines Court Rejects Mercury-Autism Link

In March 2010, the federal vaccines court ruled in three separate cases that the mercury-containing preservative thimerosal does not cause autism. More than 5,300 parents had filed claims with the vaccines court, a branch of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, seeking damages because they believed their children had developed autism as a result of vaccinations. Largely because of parental fears, thimerosal was removed from all childhood vaccines by 2001, except for multidose vials of influenza vaccine. Despite that action, the prevalence of autism has continued to grow, and it is now thought to affect as many as one in every 100 children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The vaccines court was established in 1986 because vaccine manufacturers were facing many liability suits that threatened their ability to continue manufacturing the medicines. The court holds no-fault hearings to determine whether a child has been harmed by a vaccine. Compensation comes from a $2.5 billion fund based on a 75- cent surcharge on each dose of vaccine. The court has made many awards to parents who successfully showed that their children were damaged neurologically or otherwise by vaccines, but has refused to accept claims that autism is caused by vaccination.