Fifth, with respect to the myth's claim, "by 2002 no new childhood vaccines
with Thimerosal were being sold in the U.S.," this is also false because,
among other Thimerosal-containing vaccines that could be given to children
in 2002, the Thimerosal-preserved influenza vaccine, which, by its nature,
is a new vaccine every year, was effectively knowingly added to the
recommended vaccination schedule for pregnant women as well as to the
recommended childhood vaccination schedule in April of 200228 at a time when
all doses of the influenza vaccine approved for "healthy children aged 6-23
months" were Thimerosal preserved.

Sixth, compounding the harm, in April of 2002, the CDC's recommendation that
the Thimerosal-preserved influenza vaccine be given to pregnant women who
would be in their second and third trimesters of their pregnancies during
the influenza season, thereby knowingly recommending the Thimerosal and
mercury poisoning the developing child in utero when the risk of harm is
even greater than it is postpartum and the results published in 197729
clearly found that Thimerosal-preserved influ vaccines that were given to
pregnant women significantly increased (with a hospital-standardized
relative risk of 2.0 or higher) their children's risk of serious birth
defects (cleft palate [RR = 7.1], microcephaly [RR = 2.3], and pyloric
stenosis [RR = 2.0]).