Calls for mercury in vaccines inquiry

http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/index.cfm?id=4792003

Calls for mercury in vaccines inquiry

FRASER NELSON

OPPOSITION parties have called for an inquiry into the use of mercury in vaccines and have said Scottish ministers should be prepared to ban it from inoculations if the evidence points to any unnecessary risk being taken.

Nicola Sturgeon, the SNP’s health spokeswoman, said MSPs should not wait for London and look at the wealth of evidence which has been amassed in the US since it decided to withdraw mercury from vaccines in 1999.

And Mary Scanlon, the Conservative’s health spokeswoman, has demanded details on how many pregnant women were given the mercury-containing flu vaccine this winter without being informed of the alternatives.

Although health matters are devolved to Scotland, the system of vaccination is orchestrated on a UK-wide basis. The Scotsman revealed yesterday that four of the seven flu jabs being made available on the NHS contain thimerosal, a controversial preservative which is 50 per cent ethyl mercury by weight.

This has been a source of controversy in the US through fears that mercury, a known neurotoxin, may reach the foetus and damage cells. Although there has been no conclusive evidence supporting this, there have been enough reports to raise serious doubts.

An official report by the Institute of Medicine in the US has said the scientific evidence "neither proves nor disproves a link between the mercury-containing preservative thimerosal and neurodevelopmental disorders in children".

Ms Sturgeon said that although this issue has been given scant attention in London, the Scottish parliament has powers to launch an investigation. She served on the health committee when it made its own investigation into the mercury-free MMR triple vaccine.

She said: "The issue of choice is crucial. It was the absence of choice in MMR, where parents were not allowed to take single jabs, which damaged confidence," she said. "If a choice exists now with mercury in flu vaccines, then people should be aware of that choice."

Ms Scanlon said: "Given the fears about mercury in the US, and its obvious qualities as a toxic metal, I can see absolutely no reason why it should have been included in any flu vaccines this winter if alternatives were available."

She added: "Any pregnant women with asthma are advised to take the vaccine. I shall be asking how many were given the flu vaccine with mercury this winter, when it was an entirely avoidable risk."

Seven flu vaccines have been issued by the government this winter. Fluvirin, Influvac, Fluvarix and Agrippal contain mercury, while Begrivac, Inflexal and the flu vaccine from Aventis Pasteur are mercury-free.

The issue of thimerosal has barely registered on the UK political scene, although the issue has spread across the US. This is partly because UK ministers call it "thiomersal" and anyone looking for safety concerns under this spelling would find nothing.

"In Scotland, we have the powers to look at the issue of mercury in vaccines and I hope that this is a matter the Scottish Executive will look at very seriously - and, if need be, take a different decision to that in London," said Ms Sturgeon.

Thimerosal vaccines, which are also included in the immunisation diet for children, are now difficult to sell in the US where public awareness about their mercury content is high. The Institute of Medicine has advised parents to choose mercury-free vaccines.

The mercury-containing vaccines, some of which are two years old, are easier to sell in the UK where doctors do not inform patients of the difference.

But now that a complete range of mercury-free vaccines is available, Scottish ministers have the power to order these from the NHS central buying agency.

	Autism fears over mercury in flu jabs (02-Jan-03)
	Dose of danger dressed up as protector (02-Jan-03)
	The caring kids who give up their childhood (15-Dec-02)
	Blood tests link MMR to autism (25-Aug-02)
	Scientists claim new link between MMR and autism (09-Aug-02)
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Calls for mercury in vaccines inquiry