The RFK Jr. vaccination panel wishes to eliminate the Thimérosal from the influenza shots. Is it really toxic?

An Advisory Committee for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently voted to recommend that shots influence single dose formulas without Thimérosal as a curator.

What is Thimérosal and why is it used in vaccines?

Thimérosal is a preservative containing mercury used to prevent bacterial growth in multi-dose bottles of vaccines and drugs.

Decades ago, some reports raised concerns about Thimérosal’s potential link with development and cognitive problems in children, including autism.

No real study confirms the link, but Thimérosal was withdrawn from most vaccines in 1999 “by abundance of caution,” said Robert Hopkins JR, MD, medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.

Almost all vaccines are available in versions without Thimérosal. About 94% of the US supply on influenza vaccines does not contain Thimérosal; Those who do it are generally found in multi-dose bottles used in certain rural clinics.

“Data has constantly shown that Thimérosal is not harmful in the small quantities previously used, and today, most patients can easily avoid vaccines that contain them,” said Hopkins.

Is Thimérosal sure?

There are two types of mercury. Methylmercurus, which is in certain fish, can be harmful to humans in high doses. Ethylmercure – The type used in Thimérosal – is eliminated more quickly from the body, which makes it less likely to harm.

The CDC declares that Thimérosal has a solid safety file in medical products, and several studies have found no evidence of damage to the low doses used in vaccines.

“This fact was definitively determined years ago, and the FDA, the CDC and many university institutions have excellent magazines on the safety of vaccines containing Thimérosal in children. The increase in this subject now has only one objective – to be wary of vaccines in general and in the process to determine the safety of vaccines, “said James Campbell, MD, MS, FAAP, a member of the American Academy of the Committee of Pediatrics on Infective Disseas Declaration.

Hopkins said that chemical ingredients in vaccines have long been at the center of anti-vaccine messaging. He often tells the patients concerned that if many chemicals are potential toxins, what matters is the quantity. “We all know that we need iron, but if we get too much, it’s damaging,” he added.

A single new member of the AIPI voted against the recent recommendation on Thimérosal. H. Cody Meissner, MD, professor of pediatrics at the Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine, said during the panel: “The AIPI makes recommendations based on scientific evidence as much as possible … and there is no scientific evidence that Thimérosal caused a problem.”

The controversy of the Thimérosal stimulates the concern concerning the access and confidence of the vaccines

Thimeralal did not appear on the initial agenda of the recent meeting of the Consultative Committee on Vaccination Practices (ACIP).

However, the subject was added after the Secretary of Health and Social Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. deleted the 17 existing members of the ACIP – who are generally verified by the CDC – and replaced them with his own people named. According to reports, several new members have publicly expressed skepticism with regard to vaccines.

The CDC has not yet adopted the committee’s recommendation to move away from the dates of flu containing Thimérosal.

Infectious disease experts fear that the ACIP voting can fuel the hesitation in vaccines and limit access to the flu vaccine, especially in poorly served areas.

Angela Branche, MD, a specialist in infectious diseases at the University of Rochester, said in a briefing by the Société des Diseases infectious in America that many rural clinics had no space for storing single dose bottles.

The change would bear both a monetary cost for these clinics and a cost in which vacci, “said Branche.