Organic chemistry should probably be made mandatory as part of high school science education like physics. Parent looks like Exhibit A for anti-thiomersal hysteria.
In Germany it's 1 year of the final 2 year Chemistry elective, where most people instead choose Biology or Physics (and I think if you are on a language focused path you might not even have to do one of them).
Just looked it up and you are right, all of 10th grade is already focused on organic chemistry[0] (in Bavaria) for those with a STEM profile, while other profiles also have organic chemistry that year, but a bit less of it.
In the US, high school includes very basic chemistry lumped into general science topics. Pretty much all organic chemistry I've learned has been from Khan academy and wikipedia...
I've actually worked for decades in science and the last ten in a chemistry department as a scientist looking for new cancer drugs. Don't assume things. I'm not that afraid of thiomersal since it is given so rarely. That doesn't mean I would love to be around a new pigment made from mercury...
One of the things I learnt in actual chemistry classes was that organomercury compounds actually tend to be really toxic compared to elemental mercury. Unfortunately, there's been a fair amount of misinformation spread about this online in the name of fighting anti-vaxxers, often involving misleading analogues with stuff like chlorine and sodium.
I believe that the anti-thiomersal hysteria was quite justified.
Even if thiomersal is more effective at killing bacteria than at killing humans, there are no doubts that it is also toxic for humans and for any other animals.
While the thiomersal dose injected together with a vaccine is small enough so that in most cases it will not cause damages before being eliminated from the body, the risks are not negligible.
To willingly inject yourself with poison, even in a quantity that hopefully will not hurt you, seems rather stupid.
Better alternative bactericides must be found for vaccine preservation.
The amount of mercury intake with vaccine that was preserved using thiomersal is smaller than amount mercury taken into organism when you drink a cup of tap water in many countries, including tap water declared safe to drink.
While you may be right that the total amount of mercury is not an issue relative to other sources, allergies to thiomersal are a real thing. Here's a page on it: https://dermnetnz.org/topics/thiomersal-allergy/
Personally, I eventually discovered that my terrible problems with wearing contact lenses in the 1990's were caused by the thiomersal used as a preservative in the saline solution I was using. Given my known and tested reaction to having it in my eyes and on my skin, I would be very reluctant to have an injection that contained it.
Guess we should ban peanuts too, since allergies to that exist too. Some population being allergic isn't an argument to remove it, rather one for transparency and alternatives.
"Heh" is an obnoxious response, as if an organic chemistry class wouldn't teach the basics of organometallics and some of the things that make compounds more or less dangerous.
