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‘Most
children in the United States being immunized today and in the future are
unlikely to receive a vaccine that contains thimerosal.’
— MARIE MCCORMICK
IOM committee chair
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THE INGREDIENT, thimerosal, has
been removed from most vaccines and the academy said that, despite the lack
of proof that it is a hazard, prudence dictates that steps be taken to
further reduce its use.
Safe Minds, an advocacy group working to reduce
children’s exposure to mercury, welcomed the report but contended it didn’t
go far enough.
Safe Minds president Sallie Bernard said the group
is pleased the report acknowledges the possibility of the preservative being
linked to health problems. But she said the group is renewing its call for
removal of all childhood vaccines containing thimerosal.
The connection between exposure to high levels of
mercury and problems with the nervous system has long been known.
While thimerosal contains a different form of
mercury than the one that has been implicated in nervous disorders, critics
have complained that it also may pose a hazard.
FEW VACCINE’S CONTAIN PRODUCT
Thimerosal was used for many years to prevent
bacterial contamination of vaccines. Currently, however, few vaccines given
to children in the United States contain the product.
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It was never used in vaccines against measles, mumps, rubella,
chicken pox and polio. However, until recently, some other vaccines on the
recommended childhood immunization list used it.
They are now manufactured without thimerosal, but
a small number of doses for hepatitis B; diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis;
and influenza type B with thimerosal may still be on clinic shelves,
according to the report by the Academy’s Institute of Medicine.
“Most children in the United States being
immunized today and in the future are unlikely to receive a vaccine that
contains thimerosal,” said committee chair Marie McCormick, professor of
maternal and child health at Harvard School of Public Health in Boston.
“In those few cases where only supplies containing
the preservative are available, the vaccines should be administered rather
than foregoing immunization,” she said. “While the health effects of
thimerosal are uncertain, we know for sure that these vaccines protect
against real, proven threats to unvaccinated infants, children, and pregnant
women.”
STUDIES ON RISK INCONCLUSIVE
The institute said it conducted an extensive
analysis of studies assessing whether thimerosal was associated with
disorders and found them to be inconclusive.
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No evidence was found that
would prove a link between thimerosal-containing vaccines and autism,
attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, speech or language delays or other
neurodevelopmental disorders, the committee said.
However, it said that as a precaution, the
government should consider changing policies to reduce exposure to thimerosal
as much as possible.
© 2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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