It’s funny that you mention not taking any chances, because I feel the exact same way. To me, though, it’s a much bigger chance to invest so much trust in corporations, whose bottom line often strays from the public good. I’ve got nothing against free-market capitalism, but frankly I’m not convinced that a large drug company wouldn’t put weapons-grade plutonium in its vaccines if it thought it could turn a bigger profit and, if necessary, buy its way out of any trouble. They’re not evil at heart; they just want the green, baby.

Lots of esteemed scientists and researchers with impressive strands of important letters after their names are absolutely certain there’s a link between the ethylmercury in thimerosal and the meteoric rise in autism cases. Other equally credentialed, equally passionate people assure us that the body metabolizes thimerosal harmlessly, and that the rise in autism cases is a result of improved diagnostic techniques. So who’s right? I lean toward the former, but the simple fact is that not enough is known. The prudent thing for us, therefore, was to exercise caution and listen to our pediatrician, whose diagnoses over the years have led us to trust him implicitly. If he agrees that the current recommended inoculation schedule is unnecessarily frontloaded, and that a delayed schedule in keeping with our son’s well visits won’t put him in any danger, then it’s OK with us.

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