The Only Thimerosal Free Vaccination Schedule

Managing Editor's Note: There's an update to this post at the end. The CDC had incorrect info available to the public.

By Julie Obradovic

Question:

If I used to smoke 25 cigarettes a day and now I only smoke 3, am I “smoke-free”?

I think most people would agree the answer is “no”. Sure, I may be taking a step in the right direction. And sure, I’m being exposed to substantially less toxicity than previously.

But “smoke-free”? Not a chance.

So how is it that the CDC can consider a thimerosal containing vaccine with 3 micrograms of thimerosal or less “thimerosal-free”? This is their definition, and they even site studies to support it (JAMA 1999; 282(18) and JAMA 2000; 283(16)). According to them, 3 micrograms of thimerosal has “no biological effect” and is therefore the same as not having been exposed to it at all.

Call me skeptical, but I find that very hard to believe. I’ve seen the video from the University of Calgary  (HERE)  showing what happens to a neuron when exposed low levels of mercury.

Furthermore, isolating only 1 incidence of exposure via 1 vaccine is manipulative. Assuming they’re right and 3 micrograms of thimerosal won’t do anything “biological” in and of itself, what happens if a baby is given 2 “thimerosal-free” vaccines (like the Hep B and the DTaP) at 6 micrograms of exposure? Is that still considered “thimerosal-free”?

And what about if that baby just got those 2 shots and a flu shot with 25 more micrograms?  Now what? Was the baby not just exposed to 31 micrograms of thimerosal instead of 25? Any “biological effect” yet?

It’s like the tobacco industry advertising a carton of cigarettes on the premise that smoking 3 or less cigarettes at a time won’t hurt you because they’ve done a study to prove they have no biological effect when smoked in that way, with no regard to how many you smoked prior to or after those 3. Can you imagine?

Anyway, this infuriates me. It’s false advertising. If a parent asks their pediatrician for thimerosal-free vaccines, or if that pediatrician is claiming that they are a thimerosal-free office, are they really getting or giving them?  Is it possible a mom requesting thimerosal free vaccines at the 2 month visit actually just injected her child with 6 micrograms via the DTaP and HepB? According to the CDC it is!

So I took the liberty of creating an authentic thimerosal free vaccination schedule for parents who are trying to adhere to one. All vaccines listed are brands that contain no thimerosal and never did. All information may be checked HERE using the CDC’s own data.

Keep in mind, if this schedule is not adhered to, meaning flu shots are administered with full doses of thimerosal and brands of DTaP, Hib, HepB, and HepA with trace amounts are as well, a parent may possibly expose their child to 202 micrograms of thimerosal over the first 6 years of life!

To use the better known comparison, by 6 months of age it is still possible for a baby to receive 71 mcg of thimerosal versus the previous 187.5 mcg! Here’s how it could easily happen:

Prenatal: Flu shot [Fluzone, Flulaval, or Fluvirin (25mcg)]
Birth: HepB [Engergix (3mcg)]
1month: HepB [Energix (3mcg)]
2 months: DTaP [Tripedia (3mcg)] or DTaP/Hib [TriHIBit (3mcg)]
4 months: HepB [Energix (3mcg)] and DTaP [Tripedia (3mcg)] or DTaP/Hib [TriHIBit (3mcg)]
6 months: same as 4 months, plus a flu shot

This clearly falsifies the repeatedly stated mantra that babies are no longer being exposed to thimerosal these days. They most certainly are.

Moms and Dads, if you are planning on following the CDC recommended vaccine schedule, here is the only the possible way to implement a truly thimerosal free one (brand name in parenthesis). Remember, ALL flu shots have thimerosal and therefore, none can be given.

Prenatal:  NO FLU SHOT.

Birth:   Hep B (Recombivax)

1 month: Hep B (Recombivax)

2 month: DTaP (Daptacel or Infarix)
    Hib  (any)
    IPV (any)
    PCV (any)
    Rotavirus (any)

4 month: Hep B (Recombivax)
    DTaP (Daptacel or Infarix)
    DTaP/HepB/IPV (Pedatrix)
    Hib (any)
    IPV (any)
    PCV (any)
    Rotavirus (any)

6 month: same as 4 month, but NO FLU SHOT

12 month: Hib (any)
      MMR (any)
      Varicella (any)
      PCV (any)

15 month: DTaP (Daptacel or Infarix)

18 month: Hep A (Havrix or Vaqta)
       NO FLU SHOT

30 month: NO FLU SHOT

42 month: NO FLU SHOT

48 month: MMR (any)
      DTaP (Daptacel or Infarix)
      IPV (any)

54 month: NO FLU SHOT

66 month: NO FLU SHOT

Julie Obradovic is the mother of a recovered child.

Update:

Well, well, well.

Looks like the CDC made an ass out of me…again. As if it’s not bad enough what they did to my child, now they made me look like an idiot. (What’s that saying? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me?)

In this post on a thimerosal free vaccination schedule, I wrote about how upset I was that the CDC defines a trace as less than 3 micrograms. That amount is most definitely not a “trace”, especially in the context of recommended flu shots which possibly contain 25 mcg themselves. I pointed out that at the 6 month visit a child could potentially get 31 mcg of thimerosal as a result.

Now, I didn’t pull that number out of thin air. I spent quite a bit of time studying documents from the CDC’s website, and according to one of those documents called Vaccine Excipient & Media Summary, Part 2 the CDC says this:

*Where “thimerosal” is marked with an asterisk (*) it indicates that the product should be considered equivalent to thimerosal-free products. This vaccine may contain trace amounts (<3 mcg) of mercury left after post-production thimerosal removal, but these amounts have no biological effect. JAMA 1999;282(18) and JAMA 2000;283(16)

(Still, there were some corrections needed to my post, as were pointed out by commenters. For example, I didn’t mention Flu Mist as being a thimerosal free flu vaccine, but that was because I was only listing injected vaccines. And yes, there is one version of the flu shot that in single dose vials is thimerosal free, something I misinterpreted on the CDC document.)

Shortly after my post went up, someone pointed out that I appeared to have made a grave error by mistaking 3 micrograms of thimerosal as a trace amount instead of 0.3 micrograms, a substantial and important difference. I panicked at the thought of having made such a huge mistake and immediately went back and consulted the information I had researched.

But sure enough, according to what I had, I had not made a mistake. Indeed the CDC was claiming a trace amount of thimerosal was 3 micrograms or less, as is stated above. I replied so, to which I was then told that the CDC had obviously made a type-o.

“A type-o?” I questioned.

That seems a bit odd, doesn’t it? I mean, far be it from me to think the CDC free from error, but really…a type-o? On something of this importance? On a document dedicated to the most crucial component of the vaccine controversy (their ingredients)? This is where they mess up defining exactly what kids are being exposed to and how much of it? You’ve got to be kidding me.

So I contacted the CDC for clarification. Perhaps they were defining a trace amount as less than 3 micrograms even though the actual exposure is only less than 0.3 micrograms? Perhaps they were right and the pharmaceutical companies were wrong?

Nope. They were wrong. They messed up. Shocking, I know.

Just this morning I received this email:

Dear Ms. Obradovic,

Thank you for bringing this to our attention.  In fact, it is a misprint on our website.  It should read 0.3 mcg, not 3 mcg.  We will correct the error immediately.

Regards,
Skip Wolfe
Immunization Program
Centers for Disease Control & Prevention

So, folks, that’s it. In the grand scheme of things, this is good news. I’m relatively relieved kids are not receiving trace amounts higher than 0.3 micrograms, although I believe they shouldn’t be receiving any. And the fact remains that the schedule I proposed is indeed thimerosal free, although the word “only” no longer applies.

Sorry for the mistake.

Comments

[Alison]

The second MMR is NOT necessary unless a titre says that your child is not immune. According to Merck (the MAKER of the MMR), the first shot gives lifetime immunity to 95%; the second shot is required only because 5% fail to develop antibodies. There are no studies showing whether or not those 5% develop antibodies after the second shot.

The Hep B vaccines are NOT necessary at birth, or even during infancy, unless you or and/or your child engage in unprotected sex with strangers, or share needles. Those are the high risk factors for develping hep B.

BTW, I love the smoke analogy--great!

[Twyla]

Regarding the update and the CDC's amazingly stupid typo... Supposedly mecury is used in the manufacturing process and then reduced to less than 0.3 mcg through a purification process, but I never could get a straight answer from the CDC and FDA about whether there is ongoing testing of this purification process to see whether it is actually working. So, who knows how much mercury is really in these vaccines?

[Twyla]

"Believe in Science" -
Oh, really? You say that, "If you inject high amounts of Aluminum into a vein it is dangerous. If you inject it into tissue (muscle or fat) it is ok." Show me one study that shows it is safe to inject aluminum into tissue. Dr. Robert Sears looked for a study showing safe levels of aluminum for injection and could not find any.

Intramuscular injections distribute through the body more slowly than injections into a vein, but there is no filtering of toxins. Muscles and fat are not like kidneys or intestines.

Clearly you are not listening to any of the concerns raised on this web site. Do some more reading. You don't know as much as you think.

[Believe In Science - Vaccinate]

The routine CDC schedule for children less then 3yo can be completed as is done in California Thimerosal-free.

Breastmilk has aluminum in it, and Soy formula has quite a high amount. If you inject high amounts of Aluminum into a vein it is dangerous. If you inject it into tissue (muscle or fat) it is ok.

There are no studies showing that altering the CDC's standard vaccine schedule is safe. Do this at your own risk. Don't delay prevention, get your child Vaccinated appropriatly.

[jill r]

just looking at how many shots are given at the 12 month "well" visit makes me sick. that is where i lost my son. right there at that visit. we just getting him back with biomed treatments. everyday he does something that i was told he would never do. how great is that?!

[Randy]

Julie - the cigarette analogy reminded me of blog entry by Cornelia Read
http://www.nakedauthors.com/labels/CDC.html

Cornelia is one of the Naked Authors blogging at http://www.nakedauthors.com - and she's the mom of a young girl with autism. Anyone who's been lurking around AoA for a while might recall that her "CDC" post was also reprinted here in March

http://www.ageofautism.com/2008/03/the-naked-autho.html

For anyone who isn't familiar with this particular piece, take a few minutes to give it a read. It is a brilliant and intense reminder of what we're all are up against.

Like Cornelia said in her closing comments, "smoke 'em if you got 'em..."

[Monica]

Twyla, here is one study I know of regarding the damage of nanomolar thimerosal-

"Uncoupling of ATP-Mediated Calcium Signaling and Dysregulated Interleukin-6 Secretion in Dendritic Cells by Nanomolar Thimerosal"

http://www.ehponline.org/docs/2006/8881/abstract.html

here it is described in layman's terms-
http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/article/7973

[Amy]

I have an idea of a possible reason why Energix-B causes more multiple sclerosis than Rocombivax.

Energix-B contains 5% yeast protein, while Recombivax contains only 1% yeast protein.

[Amy]

Here's some information from GlaxoSmithKline:

2007 and prior, the Energix-B Hepatitis vaccine contained <0.5 mcg of mercury. Since the beginning of 2008, only mercury free Energix-B vaccines have been produced. The prior forumulation will remain on the shelves until used up or expired.

Here are the lot numbers for the vaccines.

With <0.5 mcg mercury:
NDC 58160-856-11 or NDC 58160-856-46

Mercury-free:
NDC 58160-820-11 or NDC 58160-820-46

[Sue M.]

Why would most American babies need a HepB shot at all? Will they be frequenting shooting galleries or having usafe sex? HepB is a blood-borne pathogen. Period. There is no other way to contract HepB, so why give the vaccine in infancy unless the mother is a carrier of the disease, in which case, the hospital/pediatrician should already be aware of the risk to the infant? Oh, I forgot. Profit.

The recipient of the FluMist vaccine sheds live flu virus for three weeks after administration, thus exposing the rest of us to the flu; thus, a teacher or health worker who receives this vaccine goes to work exposing students and patients to live flu. What a great idea!

And I concur with others who have posted - what about the combinations, the aluminum (which is probably contributing to all the Alzheimers), the other adjuvants that result in excitotoxins which some brains may not be able to turn off, contributing to chronic autoimmune conditions? We are poisoning the population in the name of health. Eradicating polio was a great thing. So was getting rid of the measles, the mumps, maybe even the chicken pox (although none of those killed me). But poisoning infants? Not such a good thing. Let their little neurological systems develope first, that's all I'm saying.

My little guy had chronic ear infections and a runny nose when his brilliant pediatrician decided he should get "caught up" on his vaccinations and receive a mercury-laden flu shot. And then we said good-bye to our neurotypical, verbal 18-month-old. We're slowly bringing him back. But he will never be the boy, the man, he could have been without BigPharma's "cure-all."

[Garbo]

Hats off, Theresa! This time I'm printing it and putting it in my notebook so I don't forget again!

[Twyla]

I agree with Amy that there appears to be a typo in the note at the bottom of that chart. In Dec. of 2007 the CDC emailed me and said, "Thimerosal still may be used in the early stages of making certain vaccines. However, it is removed through a purification process. When this process is complete, only trace, or insignificant, amounts of thimerosal are left (less than 0.3 mcg) and these amounts have no biological effect."

This is consistent with the FDA's table at www.fda.gov/CBER/vaccine/thimerosal.htm#t1.

But this is not consistent with the CDC's table at www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/downloads/appendices/B/excipient-table-2.pdf , which has the note at the bottom saying, "Where 'thimerosal' is marked with an asterisk (*) it indicates that the product should be considered equivalent to
thimerosal-free products. This vaccine may contain trace amounts (<3 mcg) of mercury left after post-production
thimerosal removal, but these amounts have no biological effect."

The CDC's emails and table are consistent in saying that "these amounts have no biological effect." Don't you feel better now? We know they would tell us if there were any cause for concern. (haha, what a funny joke!)

Never mind those silly people who say things like:
"At 50 nanomolar thimerosal the neuron killing capacity/rate is about doubled with the addition of levels of aluminium found in vaccines." - Dr. Boyd Haley

Or papers such as "Effects of prolonged exposure to nanomolar concentrations of methylmercury on voltage-sensitive sodium and calcium currents in PC12 cells" at www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12101032.

"Nanomolar" is one billionth of a mole. A mole is "The amount of a substance that contains as many atoms, molecules, ions, or other elementary units as the number of atoms in 0.012 kilogram of carbon 12. The number is 6.0225 × 1023, or Avogadro's number." In other words, nanomolar is a teeny tiny miniscule amount.

I wish I could put my fingers on the studies that someone posted a while back on the effects of nanomolar concentrations of mercury.

Anyway, the CDC really should get their numbers straight! 3 or 0.3?

[Theresa]

Garbo, here's your study on MS as a side effect of Engerix. The study was performed in France.

http://www.healthcentral.com/multiple-sclerosis/news-264568-66.html

"Although most hepatitis B vaccines do not seem to increase the risk of multiple sclerosis (MS) in children, use of one particular brand -- Engerix B (GlaxoSmithKline) -- may, according to findings from a study conducted in France.

The study involved 349 children with MS and 2,941 children without MS. According to the researchers, a total of 24.4 percent of the children with MS were vaccinated for hepatitis B in the 3 years before the study, compared to 27.3 percent of the children without MS.

Although the study found that hepatitis B vaccination does not generally increase the risk of MS, the children with MS were 1.74 times more likely to have received a certain type of hepatitis B vaccine called Engerix B.

Those children with MS developed symptoms 3 or more years after receiving the vaccine.

The risk was only found for this specific type of hepatitis B vaccine and not found for all vaccines against hepatitis B, Dr. Yann Mikaeloff, from Assistance Publique-Hopitaux de Paris, and colleagues report."

[Amy]

Here is a quote from the actual article the CDC referenced. From http://www.vaccinationnews.com/dailynews/april2002/limitinginfantexposurethimvax.htm 8th paragraph:

"Thimerosal is used during production of some vaccines and in many cases can be removed leaving trace amounts (<0.3 µg) of mercury that have no biologic effect.22 Such products should be considered equivalent to thimerosal-free products."

I couldn't get the article directly from JAMA without paying. So, there is a chance the typo is here, but is very unlikely since the actual product insert for Tripedia says <0.3 mcg of mercury as well.

[Amy]

It looks like the CDC made a typo regarding 0.3 vs. 3.

Here is the product insert for Tripedia showing <0.3 mcg of mercury.

http://www.fda.gov/Cber/label/dtapave030701LB.pdf

Also, the product insert for Energix, which shows no mercury.
http://us.gsk.com/products/assets/us_engerixb.pdf

I mentioned the Tdap and Menactra because a previous poster was asking regarding her teenage son. I forgot to make a note of the reason I was including it.

[Garbo]

RE: Energix shot, somewhere I read a study (I think European) that tested different brands of Hep B shot and found Energix had a higher rate of MS as a serious side effect. Wish I could find it.

[Garbo]

It's great that you found a truly thimerosal free schedule, but what about the aluminum? My son had autism (mostly recovered) and when we chelated pulled high aluminum, mercury, uranium and lead. My daughter was born 2 years later -- her shots had less mercury -- but when she developed serious motor coordination issues we had her tested and began chelation -- high aluminum from the start and continuing.

[Julie Obradovic]

The table of ingredients per brand of vaccine and type of vaccine is available at the CDC's website www.cdc.gov

It is titled Vaccine Excipient & Media Summary, Part 2. Anyone can download this and check for themselves. It was last updated in April 2008.

According to this document, yes, the Expedia version of the HepB contains trace amounts of thimerosal. And Fluzone contains thimerosal in multi-dose containers. Correction noted.

As much as I wish it were true, I did not make a mistake with regard to the 0.3 mcg versus 3 mcg. A vaccine shall be considered "thimerosal free" according to the CDC with < 3 mcg. This definition is on the document, last page at the bottom.

Here is their quote:
*Where “thimerosal” is marked with an asterisk (*) it indicates that the product should be considered equivalent to
thimerosal-free products. This vaccine may contain trace amounts (<3 mcg) of mercury left after post-production
thimerosal removal, but these amounts have no biological effect. JAMA 1999;282(18) and JAMA 2000;283(16)

Finally, Flu Mist may be an option for fighting the flu, but it is not a shot and was not included for that reason. Yes, parents may use Flu Mist without thimerosal.

Menactra and Menomune are not recommended to children in the first 6 years of life and were also not put on this list for that reason. However, Menomune in 10 dose vials does contain thimerosal.

Adacel and Boostrix are thimerosal free, but are Tdap, not DTaP, which is what I listed.

[Amy]

In addition to the FluMist live virus spray, there is a mercury free flu shot available to kids, the Fluzone single dose vial or prefilled syringe. http://www.fda.gov/CBER/label/fluzoneLB.pdf

Another mercury free flu shot available for adults 18 or over is the Afluria single dose vial. http://www.afluria.com/docs/pi.pdf

To answer a previous poster's questions, the Adacel and Boostrix brands of Tdap are mercury free. http://www.vaccineshoppe.com/image.cfm?image_type=product_pdf&pi=400-10
http://us.gsk.com/products/assets/us_boostrix.pdf

For the meningococcal vaccine, Menactra and Menomune single dose vial are mercury free.
http://www.vaccineshoppe.com/image.cfm?pi=589-05&image_type=product_pdf
http://www.vaccineshoppe.com/US_PDF/Menomune%205143.5146_11.06.pdf

I am against all vaccines, but feel it is important for people to have the correct information.

[Amy]

The Energix-B Hepatitis B vaccine contains no mercury at all.