I’m so worried about giving my child immunizations as I read that the ingredients such as mercury and aluminum are toxic and will harm my child. Should I be worried?
Immunizations do more good than harm. Mercury and aluminum are all over the planet. Children ingest mercury in breast milk and in formula. The levels often exceed those contained in vaccines.
William Thompson and his colleagues at the CDC published a study in 2007 that showed the mercury exposure from thimerosal before birth and after birth showed no statistical difference for those who received greater or lesser quantities. In another study, published in 2002 (Lancet), the University of Rochester Medical Center noted that children quickly clear any mercury from immunizations quickly. Furthermore, there is more mercury in exhaled cigarette smoke and in a tuna sandwich than there is in a vaccine. Most health care providers in the area only use single dose vial immunizations. They do not contain thimerosal, the compound that contains mercury.
Aluminum levels in vaccines are also low, and there is no need to spread out the vaccines to limit the amount of aluminum a child receives. Dr. Sears, a noted vaccine critic, says that a child will receive anywhere from 295 to 1,225 micrograms of aluminum with immunizations. What was not reported in his work was the fact that by 6 months of age, an infant ingests about 6,700 mcg of aluminum in breast milk, 37,800 micrograms in formula or 116,600 micrograms in soy based formula.
For reliable information on the evaluation of ingredients in vaccines, you can read about them in the following articles online:
Thompson WW, Price C, Goodson B, et al. Early thimerosal exposure and neuropsychological outcomes at 7 to 10 years. N Engl J Med.2007;357 (13):1281– 1292.
Offit PA, Jew RK. Addressing parents' concerns: do vaccines contain harmful preservatives, adjuvants, additives, or residuals? Pediatrics.2003;112 (6):1394– 1401
Eickhoff TC, Myers M. Workshop summary: aluminum in vaccines. Vaccine.2002;20 (suppl):S1– S4
Gundacker C, Pietschnig B, Wittmann KJ, et al. Lead and mercury in breast milk. Pediatrics.2002;110 (5):873– 878
If you have other vaccines questions, your health care provider would be glad to answer them for you.
By Sharon Rink, MD, pediatrician, ThedaCare Physicians-Pediatrics in Darboy
