"What's a little mercury in your shot anyway? Ignore these inconvenient facts: A typical flu vaccine shot solution is 50,000 parts per billion of mercury. The EPA classifies any substance with more than 200 parts per billion as hazardous waste. (The EPA limit in drinking water is 2 parts per billion.) Thus, the mercury density in a vaccine is 25,000% higher than the level required to be considered hazardous waste. This is injected directly into the bloodstream of infants, children, expectant mothers and senior citizens. What could possibly be dangerous about that?"
That's just one excerpt from Mike Adams, a.k.a. The Health Ranger. (http://www.naturalnews.com/)
Obviously Mike Adams has strong feelings about the mercury in vaccines. But is the information true? Let's find out.
The Center for Disease Control & Prevention has a page specifically addressing concerns about mercury and thimerasol. (http://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/updates/thimerosal_faqs_mercury.htm)
It states, "Several federal agencies, including the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registries (ATSDR), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), have established guidelines for levels of mercury exposure that are thought to be safe. Federal safety standards for mercury are based on research performed on methylmercury.
More information is available about methylmercury than about a related form called ethylmercury because methylmercury binds to tissue more easily than ethylmercury, and remains there a longer time. Methylmercury is also believed to be more toxic than ethylmercury (Magos, 2001) and is the form of mercury of greatest public health concern (Mahaffey, 1999)."
Further down, the CDC states:
"The nervous system is very sensitive to all forms of mercury."
"Effects on brain functioning may include irritability, shyness, tremors, changes in vision or hearing, attention, language, and memory problems."
"Unborn babies (developing fetus) are more sensitive to the effects of many chemicals, including mercury."
"Children may be at higher risk of mercury exposure than are adults because they eat more per pound of body weight and because they may be inherently more sensitive than adults, since their nervous systems are still developing."
"Mercury in the mother's body passes to the fetus and can pass to a nursing infant through breast milk."
"If a pregnant woman ingests mercury (no mention of mercury being injected into her bloodstream) at high levels, harmful effects that may be passed from the mother to the developing fetus include brain damage, mental retardation, lack of coordination, blindness, seizures, and an inability to speak."
"Children poisoned by mercury may develop nervous and digestive system problems and kidney damage."
I think we got the picture. Mercury is BAD.
Now, we shift to Thimerosal. The CDC says "Thimerosal is a very effective preservative that has been used in some vaccines and other products since the 1930s. Thimerosal contains approximately 49% ethylmercury. There is no convincing scientific evidence of harm caused by the low doses of thimerosal in vaccines, except for minor reactions like redness and swelling at the injection site. However, in July 1999 the Public Health Service agencies, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and vaccine manufacturers agreed that thimerosal should be reduced or eliminated in vaccines as a precautionary measure."
My thoughts run along these lines: Mercury (Thimerosal) levels in vaccinations are based on safety guidelines for methylmercury, because more scientific information is available about methylmercury than ethylmercury. Does that make me nervous? YES. If ethylmercury in Thimerosal has been considered safe since the 1930's, then why in the world don't we have MORE clinical research on this form of mercury?
Moving on.
Dr. Joseph Mercola, a leading figure in the health & wellness world, published in his October 17 newsletter:
"As reported by the Seattle Times, Washington's Department of Health (DOH) has decided to suspend the rule that limits the amount of thimerosal in vaccines that can be administered to pregnant women and infants under the age of three."
Why? According to Health Secretary Mary Selecky, “pregnant women and young children are considered at high risk for swine flu, and lifting the mercury limits will give them quicker access to the vaccine.”
Is it just me, or does this make very little sense? The CDC itself states numerous times on its public website that unborn babies, young children, and pregnant women are the most vulnerable populations to mercury exposure.
(I am including in a separate post a bibliography Dr. Mercola has compiled with numerous studies regarding mercury testing & safety. It is so long I can't even fit it in this blog!)
Moving on.
Also taken from Dr. Mercola's website (sources: Seattle Times September 29, 2009, The Scientist September 23, 2009,ABC News October 14, 2009)
"Five biopharmaceutical companies have been awarded massive contracts by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for development and production of more than 195 million doses of swine flu vaccine.
The companies -- Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline, MedImmune, Australian drug maker CSL, and Sanofi-Pasteur -- will likely make a great deal of money.
Drug companies have sold $1.5 billion worth of swine flu shots, in addition to the $1 billion for seasonal flu they booked earlier this year.
These inoculations are part of a much wider and rapidly growing $20 billion global vaccine market.
"The vaccine market is booming," says Bruce Carlson, spokesperson at market research firm Kalorama, which publishes an annual survey of the vaccine industry. "It's an enormous growth area for pharmaceuticals at a time when other areas are not doing so well," he says, noting that the pipeline for more traditional blockbuster drugs such as Lipitor and Nexium has thinned.
"As always with pandemic flus, taxpayers are footing the $1.5 billion check for the 250 million swine flu vaccines that the government has ordered so far and will be distributing free to doctors, pharmacies and schools. (emphasis mine) In addition, Congress has set aside more than $10 billion this year to research flu viruses, monitor H1N1's progress and educate the public about prevention.
"Drugmakers pocket most of the revenues from flu sales, with Sanofi-Pasteur, Glaxo Smith Kline and Novartis cornering most of the market."
So, where does that leave us in our flu shot discussion?
Let me just say this: I'll give my youngsters a flu vaccine when the drug companies give them away for free. Not the government, not with my family's tax dollars. Until then, no thanks.
Next post, we'll talk about ways to help build your body's immune system naturally.
Please take a moment and post your comments; I am very interested in my reader's feedback. Thank you!
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