Comments on: Weekly News Roundup http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/realitybase/2008/10/03/weekly-news-roundup/ A blog about science, politics, and how to let each help the other without compromising them both. Thu, 08 Jan 2009 04:33:01 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.1 By: karen rhine http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/realitybase/2008/10/03/weekly-news-roundup/#comment-3226 karen rhine Tue, 07 Oct 2008 12:51:18 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/realitybase/2008/10/03/weekly-news-roundup/#comment-3226 We appreciate that you published information that was released last week concerning public awareness and knowledge of autism. Unfortunately, the information released indicated that at one time the MMR vaccine contained thimerosal. Once we realized the mistake, we corrected the information to read as follows: The public’s concern over vaccines stems from a controversial 1998 British study linking autism and the MMR vaccine. Other childhood vaccines at the time contained the mercury-based preservative thimerosal. The British study was later retracted by most of its authors and thimerosal was removed from nearly all childhood vaccines in 2001, but responses to the just-completed survey show the public is still confused. For additional information, you can go to the FDA website: http://www.fda.gov/cber/vaccine/thimerosal.htm We appreciate that you published information that was released last week concerning public awareness and knowledge of autism. Unfortunately, the information released indicated that at one time the MMR vaccine contained thimerosal. Once we realized the mistake, we corrected the information to read as follows:

The public’s concern over vaccines stems from a controversial 1998 British study linking autism and the MMR vaccine. Other childhood vaccines at the time contained the mercury-based preservative thimerosal. The British study was later retracted by most of its authors and thimerosal was removed from nearly all childhood vaccines in 2001, but responses to the just-completed survey show the public is still confused.

For additional information, you can go to the FDA website: http://www.fda.gov/cber/vaccine/thimerosal.htm

]]>