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A good point that thimeresol hasn't been used recently but prevalences of many environmentally-influenced childhood disease have been increasing.

Autism has been increasing as has childhood allergic disease and type 1 diabetes.

So what does that say about the effectiveness of our safety testing approaches for chemicals and drugs as per prenatal, neonatal and juvenile risk? Seems obvious based on the data. No way we are getting the job done.

Drugs and chemicals are not routinely tested for risk of childhood allergic, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases? Yet that is what has been increasing among children. We apply the highest technology imaginable for drug development, but our safety testing is archaic and has lagged need by about 30-40 years.

Obviously testing could be far better and should be. But how do you test a chemical, etc. for harm to children?
Give them some chemicals in their Pablum and wait years to see if they become sick?

And who has mentioned the tons, quite literally tons, of illicit drugs gong into the bloodstreams of Americans every year, women of childbearing age included? How much effect is this having upon the incidence of autism, etc.?

What is the effect of repeated infections with STDs, lack of breast feeding newborns, abortions? And how can the later effects of these be tested for?

So you see it's not just too many environmental chemicals or lack of testing of medicines that may play a role in the incidence of childhood illnesses.