Thimerosal is a pharmaceutical compound that is nearly 50 percent mercury that was developed in 1927. It has been used as an antimicrobial agent in a range of products, but perhaps most notoriously as a preservative in vaccines.
However, there has been evidence dating as far back as the early 1930’s that thimerosal is both ineffective and hazardous. Nonetheless, thimerosal was not properly tested until the 1980’s, when the FDA recognized its toxicity and began to eliminate it from topical antiseptics. But while thimerosal was being eliminated from topicals, it was being used more and more in immunization for infants and pregnant women.
A new review of the safety and effectiveness of thimerosal in the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health has concluded that the continued use of thimerosal represents nothing less than a medical crisis. Thimerosal continues to be used as part of mandated immunizations in the United States and globally.