For the past
five years, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the U.S. Public
Health Service have joined forces in requesting the removal of all
mercury-containing preservative thimerosal from vaccines. However,
now for the first time, recommendations have been given to 6- to 23-month-old
children to get annual flu vaccines and the recommendations didn’t
include mercury-free forms of vaccines.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) reasoning
behind this was that they felt the risk of contracting the flu and
facing health complications greatly outweighed any of the potential
risks from thimerosal in the vaccines. The CDC also stated that
there hasn’t been any scientific evidence of harm from exposure
to thimerosal-containing vaccines.
Since the 1930s, thimerosal, which is filled with 49.6 percent
mercury, has been used in vaccines to control bacteria and fungi.
Both parents and watchdog groups have shown increasing concern
over the risks of autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders
as a result of being exposed to mercury. Opposition from other groups
against the vaccine has motivated Congress to form a bill, which
banned thimerosal from all vaccines.
Other experts said that the cost of mercury-free vaccines was higher
than the thimerosal-containing vaccines and that a removal of thimerosal-containing
vaccines could result in wasting one-third of the doses that have
already been produced.
Although a major assessment of thimerosal didn’t prove or
disprove any conclusive evidence on the safety of thimerosal, experts
agreed that it should be removed from the vaccines recommended for
infants, children and pregnant women.
One pediatrician stated that he planned on giving the flu vaccine
to younger children, however would definitely choose the thimerosal-free
vaccine over the thimerosal-containing vaccine.
An expert from "PROVE"(Parents Requesting Open Vaccine
Education) claimed that from the 90 to 100 million flu vaccines
that will be produced for this fall, only 6 to 8 million would be
available without mercury.
The expert also stated that adding this vaccine to the series of
vaccines for children was just a way for the vaccine companies to
cover their backs. For example, if the vaccine injured someone,
the law would prevent people from being able to directly sue the
manufacturer for injuries.
The law would also require them to take part in the long and tedious
process of the Vaccine
Injury Compensation Program, which throws most cases out without
any compensation.
CIDRAP
News May 6, 2004