Mercury and Thimerosal in Vaccines

Thimerosal, a mercury containing preservative widely used (and now removed from many pharmaceutical preparations), has lingered on in vaccines for some time. Some vaccines injected into children still contain the toxic substance. In Canada, thimerosal-containing vaccines still included in the regular childhood vaccination schedule are influenza vaccine and hepatitis B vaccine. Other routine childhood vaccines such as those for measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) do not contain thimerosal, while PentacelTM (for diphtheria, tetanus, acellular pertussis, Haemophilus influenzae type b, and inactivated polio) may still contain trace residues left over from the manufacturing process.

A 1999 Public Health Agency of Canada report says “There are no scientific data to indicate harm related to the level of exposure to mercury in thimerosal-containing hepatitis B vaccines. Therefore, NACI does not recommend any alteration to the current infant vaccination policies.” Canadian Communicable Disease Report PDF English French

For health officials to approve and promote the injection of vaccines which contain neurotoxins such as mercury with the potential to injure the developing brains of infants violates the spirit and intent of the Precautionary Principle which states that complete evidence of risk does not have to exist to institute measures to protect individuals and society from that risk. Incorporated in the Rio Declaration (U.N. Conference on the Environment, 1992), the Precautionary Principle is an ethical guideline now frequently also used in medicine to insure that absence of full scientific certainty will be not be used to postpone appropriate measure where there are threats of serious irreversible damage.

Canada replaced the old DTP (mercury containing vaccine) with two purportedly mercury free vaccines, PENTA- 4 vaccines in one (1994) and Pentacel – 5 vaccines in one(1997), not out of concern about mercury toxicity, but because it inactivates the polio vaccine contained in these preparations. The absence of scientific data to prove or disprove harm done to children exposed to dangerous levels of mercury via injectible vaccines is of little consolation to parents whose children were injected with unacceptably high levels of this nerve poison prior to 1994, and who now suffer from neurological disabilities.

The devastating effects of mercury poisoning are well documented and have been known since the 1930′s. To protect their unborn infants from mercury poisoning, pregnant women are advised against eating shellfish and other species of fish contaminated with high levels of mercury and are cautioned about the risks of mercury containing dental amalgam fillings, yet health officials encourage pregnant women to receive flu vaccine injections which contain thimerosal, a mercury compound that can cross the placenta and affect the growing fetus. (refer to Marina’s story here)

A synopsis of a discussion about mercury at the October 2001 Defeat Autism Now Conference in the U.S. stated that, “There are many similarities in symptoms between mercury toxicity and autism, including social deficits, language deficits, repetitive behaviors, sensory abnormalities, cognition deficits, movement disorders, and behavioral problems. There are also similarities in physical symptoms, including biochemical, gastrointestinal, muscle tone, eurochemistry, neurophysiology, EEG measurements, and immune system/autoimmunity.”

Public Health Agency of Canada – July 1, 2007 – Thimerosal: Updated Statement

Safe Minds – Leading Organization Examining the Role of Mercury in Child Neuro Disorders

The Coalition for Mercury Free Drugs

CDC Data Links Vaccine Mercury to Autism

Boyd Haley, Ph.D., Leading World Expert on Mercury Toxicity

Dr. Boyd Haley, Biomarkers supporting mercury toxicity as the major exacerbator of neurological illness

Deadly Immunity, by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Thimerosal Linked to Autism: Thimerosal, found in childhood vaccines, can increase the risk of autism-like damage in mice.

Vaccine Ingredients linked to Autism & ADHD – Dr. Richard Deth Research

Thimerosal Containing Vaccines and Neurodevelopment Outcomes by Dr. Boyd Haley

How Mercury Causes Brain Neuron Degeneration – Film produced by University of Calgary

Autism Research Institute/Mercury Detoxification