Still being made with mercury...

Many Vaccines Are Still Made With Mercury


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Over three years ago, health-related organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended that thimerosal be removed from vaccines as soon as possible. Despite this recommendation, thimerosal is still present in many vaccinations today.

Thimerosal, an additive that has been used as a vaccine preservative since the 1930s, contains 49.6 percent mercury by weight. Mercury is a toxic element that, if taken in high enough doses, can result in long-term immune, sensory, neurological, motor, and behavioral dysfunctions. Mercury is especially dangerous to fetuses and small children because their brains are still developing and are therefore more susceptible to the damaging effects. Disorders associated with mercury poisoning include autism, attention deficit disorder, and speech and language deficiencies.

Many of the thimerosal-containing vaccines, which include Hepatitis B, diphtheria, pertussis, acellular pertussis, tetanus and Hib, are recommended specifically for children. In fact, many infants receive up to 15 vaccines that contain mercury by the time they are six months old. Recently, vaccine manufacturers have begun to reduce the number of vaccines containing thimerosal, but children are still being exposed to potentially harmful levels of mercury in the vaccinations. CDC still recommends that parents vaccinate their children, however.

The following table is a list of vaccines containing thimerosal:

Vaccines Containing Thimerosal:
DTaP Acel-Imune Lederle Laboratories
Tripedia Pasteur Merieux Connaught Certiva
North American Vaccine DTwP (All products) DT (All products)
Td (All products) TT (All products) DtwP-Hib
Tetramune Lederle Laboratories TriHIBit
Pasteur Merieux Connaught HibTITER (multidose) Lederle Laboratories
ProHIBit4 Pasteur Merieux Connaught Hepatitis B virus
Engerix-B SmithKline Beecham Recombivax HB
Merck Influenza (All)
Meningococcal
Menomune A, C, AC and A/C/Y/W-135 CLI Pneumococcal
Pnu-Imune 23 Lederle Laboratories Rabies
Rabies Vaccine Adsorbed BioPort Corporation

Several Congressional hearings have debated this issue, partly because of health reasons and partly because the approval process for these vaccines is heavily influenced by the pharmaceutical industry. Numerous congressmen have called for the removal of all vaccines containing thimerosal, though this has not yet occurred.

Several vaccines are now being developed that will be entirely thimerosal-free.

Thimerosal-News.com