Thimerosal and the Swine Flu Vaccine
EmailToday at the CDC in Atlanta, health officials are huddled, trying to game plan the best way to dole out a vaccine for swine flu. The race is on to develop a vaccine before the flu season kicks into high gear in October. The question today is if a vaccine is ready by mid October, who should be the first to receive it? The answer may very well be health care workers and pregnant women. The next wave would likely be school age children and school staff given what we've learned about this flu and its impact on schools. But what about the vaccine preservative thimerosal? Here is what the CDC says about Thimerosal: "There is no convincing evidence of harm caused by the low doses of thimerosal in vaccines, except for minor reactions like redness and swelling at the injection site." Thimerosal is no longer used in all child vaccines made in the US except for the flu vaccine. Here is the CDC on Thimerosal and flu shots: "Yes, the majority of influenza vaccines distributed in the United States currently contain Thimerosal as a preservative. However, some contain only trace amounts of Thimerosal and are considered by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to be preservative-free." It would seem likely that the new Swine Flu vaccine therefore would contain some amount of Thimerosal. It would also seem likely that will give some parents pause.
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I’m allergic to thimerisol, found that out way back when it was used in contact lens solutions (until it was banned for that use). Really messed with my eyes until they firgured out what the issue was, stopping use of the lens solutions cleared things up. Thimerisol-free used to be a marketing phrase for re-formulated products. I’d be concerned about receiving an injection of it :( It’s why I can’t get flu shots…
Posted by: Benji | July 29, 2009, 6:14 pm 6:14 pm
I wish the biased media would stop calling the H1N1 virus the”swine flu”. As a pork producer, our name has been run through the dirt because of the news people. Get your stories straight!
Posted by: mz | July 29, 2009, 6:41 pm 6:41 pm
Like Benji, I too am extremely allergic to Thimerosal. But I do get the flu shot which is Thimerosal free. Your doctor has to order it special for you but it is available. I don’t believe the H1N1 flu shot will be available without Thimerosal but I think it is worth taking under these conditions. I also check with manufacturers to see if any of their products include Thimerosal as many medications do, as well as, cosmetics, and other over-the-counter products.
Posted by: Adrienne | July 30, 2009, 5:07 am 5:07 am
I will never, never get any type of flu shot from this govt. or any of my children. The H1N1 has only taken a little over 200 people death which already had illness, the regular flu kills 36,000 people every year so why is it that we must take a shot for something that may not be a strong virus plus have Thimerosal which is mercury. The Govt. can forget!!!
Posted by: Sonya | July 30, 2009, 6:58 pm 6:58 pm
Pregnant women should NOT have any vaccine that contains thimerosal. Use your brains ladies and do the research yourself. Form your own opinion and do what YOU feel is right. Doctors are only human and they rely on too much information(sometimes incorrect information) from prominent drug companies.
Posted by: MKO | July 30, 2009, 8:18 pm 8:18 pm
Check out a company called Vaxine Pty Ltd in Australia. They are funded by NIH and are doing clinical trials in partnership with a US company Protein Sciences Corporation of a swine flu (and also a seasonal flu) vaccine that is completely free of egg-proteins, viruses, aluminium, thiomersal and any preservatives. It is likely to be more expensive to produce as it has to be sealed in sterile single dose vials. But surely this is the way of the future, why are consummers still being delivered outdated 1940′s style flu vaccines when much better newer ones are clearly available (amazingly despite being preservative free their swine flu vaccine was the first one in the world to be developed and injected into humans 2 weeks ago.
Posted by: sharen | July 31, 2009, 9:19 am 9:19 am
How about the lobby…
Top All-Time Donors 1989-2008
58 Pfizer Inc $13,201,017
67 GlaxoSmithKline $10,892,244
84 Eli Lilly & Co $8,979,924
96 Bristol-Myers Squibb $7,282,437
All these companies donating money to the congress? And somebody dears to call people lunatics for distrusting CDC/FDA?
2003 study has been dismissed and flawed, and other studies since been labeled biased due to conflict of interest.
I see it time and time again, people trying to discredit somebody asking one simple question – why is thimerosal still in the vaccines?
2004 study:
Conflicts of interest in new CDC Thimerosal study of 2004:
Dr. Thompson – former employee of Merck;
Dr. Marcy, receiving consulting fees from Merck, Sanofi Pasteur, GlaxoSmithKline, and MedImmune;
Dr. Jackson, receiving grant support from Wyeth, Sanofi Pasteur, GlaxoSmithKline, and Novartis, lecture fees from Sanofi Pasteur, and consulting fees from Wyeth and Abbott and serving as a consultant to the FDA Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee;
Dr. Lieu, serving as a consultant to the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices;
Dr. Black, receiving consulting fees from MedImmune, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, and Merck and grant support from MedImmune, GlaxoSmithKline, Aventis, Merck, and Novartis;
and Dr. Davis receiving consulting fees from Merck and grant support from Merck and GlaxoSmithKline.
Posted by: honesty_first | August 3, 2009, 4:15 am 4:15 am
I think people have a right to make the decisions for themselves. Everyone should head over to pubmed and start typing in Thimerosal and mitochondria, etc. Also type in the following title. “Cellular and mitochondrial glutathione redox imbalance in lymphoblastoid cells derived from children with autism”
There are numerous studies of thimerosal damage through the mitochondria and autism is more and more being found to have links to mitochondrial damage/dysfunction. UC Davis mind institute also found that thimerosal damages calcium homeostasis and raises intercellular CA2+. A study last summer of children with ASD post mortem and controls showed every one of the cases of autism had raised CA2+ in the brain and none of the controls.
My child was clearly a regressive post vaccine case of autism. He has mitochondrial dysfunction, vaccine induced seizures and major immune dysfunction.
There is an abundance of science on the matter of the dangers of thimerosal and the pathophysiological nature of autism. Not large epidemiological science that does not look at the dangers of thimerosal on a cellular level or at the individual children with autism on a cellular level.
Posted by: Allison | August 5, 2009, 9:58 am 9:58 am
I am also allergic to thimerosal…trying to find a flu shot without it is almost impossible if your doctor will not order it. I found it at the clinic in Walgreens. It should be against the law to use even trace amounts of mercury in anything except thermometers!
Posted by: Cindy | September 30, 2009, 6:49 pm 6:49 pm