U.S. Pediatricians Endorse Continued Injection of Mercury into Children in Developing Countries
U.S. Pediatricians Endorse Continued Injection of Mercury into Children in Developing Countries
SafeMinds deplores AAP support of the unlimited use of thimerosal in vaccines.
WASHINGTON, DC – In a stunning statement, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has supported the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommendation that thimerosal, a mercury-containing preservative, be retained for use in the global vaccine supply. Rather than supporting a ban or phase out, the AAP and WHO are arguing for unrestricted use of mercury in vaccines. SafeMinds believes that children in developing countries deserve the same access to mercury-free vaccines that children have in developed nations.
According to the AAP, its mission is “to attain optimal physical, mental, and social health and well being for all infants, children, adolescents, and young adults.” The AAP further states that it “can move the national focus from documenting child health disparities to advancing the principles and practice of child health equity and, in so doing, influence the worldwide practice of pediatrics and child health.”
"Apparently, the American Academy of Pediatrics' mission does not extend to children in other countries," said Eric Uram, SafeMinds’ Executive Director. "Here in the USA, the AAP endorsed mercury-free childhood vaccines in 1999. Despite this, they have kowtowed to pressure and released this hardline statement. It is unconscionable for an organization of pediatricians to fail to support an expedited phase out, if not an immediate ban of the intentional injection of mercury into children."
SafeMinds is encouraging the nations participating under the United Nations Environmental Program to include language in the International Mercury Treaty to expedite the removal of mercury from vaccines, pharmaceuticals and other personal care products. Treaty negotiators have three options for treaty language – to ban a mercury product outright, to phase it out rationally and use alternatives, or to allow its use without limitation. SafeMinds supports a ban or phase out of thimerosal. The AAP and WHO wish to allow unlimited mercury use in vaccines.
Many children in developing countries are still exposed to the full amount of mercury in their vaccines that raised concerns in the United States in the late 1990s. Most children in the US had been receiving over 100 times the daily exposure limit for methylmercury set by the Environmental Protection Agency (0.1 mcg/kg bodyweight/day) through thimerosal in their routine vaccinations. Thimerosal, like methylmercury, is an organic form of mercury and highly toxic. For example, an average 5 kg infant at 2 months of age would have received a total of 62.5 mcg of mercury from their Hepatitis B, Hib, and DTaP vaccines combined. The allowable limit for a child that weight was 0.5mcg/day so they were 125 times over the limit. It took approximately 3 years for most of the vaccines in the US to be changed to mercury-free formulations. The AAP and WHO position requests treaty language that would allow unrestricted use of thimerosal-containing vaccines in countries around the world.
“When you come down to it,” stated Uram, “this is really about money and maintaining an inflexible bureaucracy. All the WHO arguments about multi-dose packaging and cold chain storage are driven by status quo thinking and minimizing cost, not promoting children's well-being. Clearly thimerosal-free vaccines are readily available in wealthier countries and could be made available globally. Children in poor countries should not have to be injected with a known neurotoxin in order to be vaccinated against infectious diseases.”
The AAP states that there is “no evidence that the amount of ethylmercury found in thimerosal-containing vaccines is harmful to human health.” This ignores results in their own publication Pediatrics, showing that thimerosal in vaccines was associated with speech delays and tics (Verstraaten 2003). These findings were later replicated in studies in the New England Journal of Medicine (Thompson et. al 2007) and, again, in Pediatrics (Andrews et al. 2004). In addition, a wide array of animal and cellular studies show that thimerosal is toxic to human cells and disrupts cellular metabolism(Herdman 2006, Humphrey 2009, Makani 2002) , is harmful to the immune system (Havarinasab2005) and DNA (Baskin 2003), and functions as an endocrine disruptor (Sulkowski et al. 2012). Last week, a rat study found that embryonic exposure to thimerosal produced lasting impairment of brain neurotransmitters (Ida-Eto et al. 2012). Visit SafeMinds for more studies supporting removal of mercury from vaccines.
SafeMinds challenges the position of the AAP and calls for the immediate removal or rapid phase out of mercury in vaccines and personal care products. “It is hard enough to reduce mercury in the environment to protect human health,” said Sallie Bernard, SafeMinds’ President. “The last thing we should be doing is injecting it into our children.”
SafeMinds is a non-profit 501c-3 organization whose mission is to restore health and protect future generations by eradicating the devastation of autism and associated health disorders induced by mercury and other toxicants resulting from human activities.
"Or they'll just say they're taking mercury out of vaccines, and then do nothing of the sort. How can we be sure that mercury free vaccines are actually free of mercury right now? Because the vaccine makers tell us that are????"
Exactly!! In addition to the thimerosal still used in most flu shots and many Dtaps, manufacturers use mercury and other metals in the process of creating the vaccines--they KNOW some remains. WHO is testing to see exactly how much. I've heard quality control terrible in the vaccine industry...
Posted by: healthforchildren | June 13, 2012 at 03:02 PM
It appears that knowledge is in silos and researchers,
doctors and big-pHarma do not communicate with each other in an efficient manner.
Yes Barry,you are correct.Who is checking on big pHarma on
the top? Where has the staff,the facilities,the knowledge and the money??? We all know the answer to this one.
It is trully shameful and wrong to treat these children
with mercury containing vaccines.Their autism rates and chronic illnesses must be sky rocketing.AAP,do you truly
care about children???!!! Actions speak louder than voice.
Posted by: oneVoice | June 13, 2012 at 02:45 PM
Mainstream medicine sold its soul to the devil many years ago when it aligned itself with the pharmaceutical industry. Think vaccines, cancer treatments,heart drugs, arthritis drugs, diabetes drugs, etc., etc., etc....toxic chemical stews all around. Just listen to the Robin Roberts saga. They are falling all over themselves to convince people not to give up on standard cancer treatment, just because her chemo caused her new blood disorder. I have 2 friends in the same boat. We need to demand better, safer, less toxic health care for everything. Maybe if more people declined vaccines there would be less cancer. Maybe if we didn't burn, mutilate and poison cancer patients, they might survive. In my mind, though, the worst of the atrocities that can be laid at the door of mainstream medicine, is what they have done to the children. This should never be forgiven. MM sold out to the devil and may the devil take the whole bunch of them!
Posted by: CT teacher | June 13, 2012 at 12:23 PM
Maybe if doctors had to walk around with speech delays and tics caused by medications other people required them to take they'd have little empathy for the problems they create and think twice.
Posted by: AnaB | June 13, 2012 at 11:57 AM
The twenty five micrograms of mercury in a single flu shot with Thimerosal preservative is currently improperly listed by the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control as "safe" for children and pregnant women in the United States. But when a flu vaccine dose with Thimerosal is unused it has to be sent to special mercury hazardous waste disposal facility because it is considered too toxic to dispose in a sanitary sewer system or municipal waste landfill. It is listed by the Environmental Protection Agency as D009 mercury hazardous waste. Apparently the members of the American Academy of Pediatrics are in a deep sleep.
Posted by: Jim Thompson | June 13, 2012 at 08:06 AM
"... Even if Safeminds and other organizations are somehow able to bring about a ban on Mercury worldwide, the vaccine industry will simply exchange the mercury for more aluminum, as they have done in the current vaccines...."
*************
Or they'll just say they're taking mercury out of vaccines, and then do nothing of the sort. How can we be sure that mercury free vaccines are actually free of mercury right now? Because the vaccine makers tell us that are????
Vaccine makers also claim that vaccines today are free of SV-40. Anyone here actually believe that one??
Posted by: Barry | June 12, 2012 at 10:03 PM
At what point do U.S. pediatricians bolt from AAP to save their own personal integrity and reputation? Remember when it was a cool thing to say you were a mortgage broker, or worked for an investment firm? No more pride in these careers today. Shameless bunch of hypocrites who are supposed to protect our children, not sell them out.
Posted by: Mary | June 12, 2012 at 09:10 PM
Even if Safeminds and other organizations are somehow able to bring about a ban on Mercury worldwide, the vaccine industry will simply exchange the mercury for more aluminum, as they have done in the current vaccines. My grandson's testing showed Aluminum level was 1,380 with 100 being the maximum safe level. Aluminum is now being shown to be as neurotoxic as Mercury.
I had a very interesting conversation yesterday with a woman who had a new baby boy with her in her grocery cart. I offered her the vaccine schedule that I always carry with me in my purse, and she said, "I know all about the vaccines so I do not allow my children to be vaccinated." We went on to discuss the Mercury and Aluminum issue and she then said, "There is alot more damage issues caused by vaccines than just the Mercury and Aluminum". I replied that if she ever got into a situation in a hospital where there was any attempt to force the vaccines, she just needed to say these words: "I need to call my lawyer." She then said, "I tell them that if they even go near my children with vaccines, prepare to be sued, because I am a doctor myself." OMG the DOCTORS are finally getting it!!!
Posted by: AutismGrandma | June 12, 2012 at 06:22 PM
Truly amazing! As a medical professional, I am also hugely concerned about the formaldehyde that is in most immunizations. This is a known carcinogen but everyone seems to be too busy participating in Relay for Life and other fundraisers for cancer support to force BigPharma to remove the cause of who knows how many cases per year! There is NO way vaccines can be considered safe with neurotoxins and carcinogens as ingredients! For an excellent chart of these ingredients, go to www.cdc.gov and then do a search for "Vaccine Excipient and Media Summary." You will get charts that list the ingredients contained in each vaccine straight from the CDC's website!
Posted by: Janet Presson, R.N., M.Ed. | June 12, 2012 at 05:27 PM
I think crippling and killing the "excess" of poor children, undernourished children in less developed countries is the major goal of WHO, strongly supported by the APA. GAVI's vaccines full of mercury will undoubtedly achieve this goal. WHO insane and appalling decision to allow pure poison to be injected to infants in poor countries will result in reinstatement of thimerosal containing vaccines in the US, as it is rapidly becoming undeveloped country.
Only total avoidance of all vaccines will save children from medical holocaust. Go Amish with healthcare! Use invasive medicine (such vaccines) only when really sick and never for “prophylaxis”, which is a route of making people really ill. It is in fact the prophylaxis from health.
Posted by: no vac | June 12, 2012 at 04:10 PM
As a holistic pediatrician who does not vaccinate and who has NEVER been a member of the AAP, I am disgusted and horrified at this outrageous position taken by the WHO and endorsed by the AAP. Indeed, how can pediatricians sleep at night knowing they are supporting the poisoning of children who are already likely to be challenged by malnutrition, lack of sanitation, and lack of access to good medical care.
Posted by: Janet Levatin, MD | June 12, 2012 at 01:27 PM
Every time I think I couldn't be more disgusted with the AAP, they do something else. They are truly unbelievable.
Posted by: Lisa | June 12, 2012 at 12:55 PM
Has there ever been a study of the Autism rates of the children and grandchildren of the AAP membership??? ?
I would guess their rates are much LOWER than the national average as they long ago quit shooting up their own children with Thimerosal.
Posted by: cmo | June 12, 2012 at 12:13 PM
Not an MD:
I looked at the table you linked to from Johns Hopkins and it says this regarding the trace level mercury (600 ppb) in Tripedia vaccine:
"This product should be considered equivelent to thimerosal free products. This vaccine may contain trace amounts (<0.3 mcg) of mercury left after post production thimerosal removal; these amounts have no biological effect. (JAMA 2009....)"
This is a great example of the misleading messaging from our Public Health Authorities. I am not aware of ANY amount of ethylmercury NOT having a biological effect. Just because the table cites a JAMA article we are supposed to forget everything we learned about mercury???? Up to 600 ppb is perfectly ok for injecting into babies?? when Mercury concentrations as low as one fifth of one part per billion have been shown to negatively affect enzymes necessary for the removal of mercury itself from the body. A fetus or newborn infant does not even have the ability to detoxify heavy metal exposure, so it remains with yet unstudied consequences.
It is a very useful table though - The FDA table I link to does not have hyperlinks. Thanks for the link!
Posted by: Tim Kasemodel | June 12, 2012 at 11:37 AM
Oops! I made a typo. I meant 25 mcg. of mercury, not thimerosal. Apparently, a thimerosal concentration of only .01% contains 25 mcg of mercury.
Here is a current table of mercury in vaccines:
http://www.vaccinesafety.edu/thi-table.htm
I guess multi-dose vials of Menomune contain mercury. How thoughtful.
Posted by: Not an MD | June 12, 2012 at 10:10 AM
American Academy of Pharmaceutical Profits.
(Ha ha! My wordver was "vax7pn" - swear to God!)
KS
Posted by: Managing Editor | June 12, 2012 at 08:07 AM
This is a good time to review what the AAP and State Health Departments tell parents about thimerosal, and what the facts really are.
I wrote the following in June 2008 and I consider it a great primer for debating the "safety" of thimerosal.
THIMEROSAL AND VACCINES: WHAT YOUR DOC WANTS YOU TO BELIEVE
http://www.ageofautism.com/2008/06/thimerosal-and.html
Below is a choice excerpt:
"The FDA’s justification for safety of thimerosal exposure for infants under current recommendations is that the total possible exposure of 28 micrograms by 7 months of age is “significantly below the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) calculated exposure guideline for methyl mercury of 65 micrograms during the first 6 months of life for a child in the fifth percentile body weight.” The word “during” indicates the calculation was made based on the daily weight of this baby multiplied by the daily exposure limit, calculated each day, then totaled after 6 months. However, the EPA exposure guidelines are 0.1 mcg per kilogram body weight per day. For a 20 pound infant, the 65 micrograms calculated to be safe by the FDA would be 72 times more than allowed that day. The 12.5 micrograms of mercury in each of the mandatory two flu shots is actually 14 times more than the EPA guidelines for the average 6 month old.
"This is the same as the FDA accepting that giving 8400 mgs of Tylenol (three 1 oz. bottles) all at one time at 6 months and another 8400 mgs at 7 months of age is “SAFE” because the baby could have received 43,200 mgs now that he is 180 days old."
Just the other day I was wearing my "MERUCRY POISONED MY CHILD" t-shirt and had someone ask me "Is that true?"
I absolutely LOVE telling people about thimerosal and seeing the look on their face when I tell them the Flu shot they just got contained mercury 250 times more concentrated than liquid hazardous waste...........
Since there are still 15 vaccines currently being manufactured for administration with mercury** it is still as relevant today as ever.
**http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/SafetyAvailability/VaccineSafety/UCM096228
Posted by: Tim Kasemodel | June 12, 2012 at 07:58 AM
It is quite clear the AAP has lost its way, and has sold its soul to the pharmaceutical industry. How do these doctors live with themselves? How do they go to their pediatric practices every morning and find the courage to face their tiny, precious clients and lie to their parents about the safety of trace amounts or full 25 mcg. amounts of thimerosal? It appears that members of the AAP need to reclaim their souls and restore their dignity. I have lost all faith in them.
Posted by: Not an MD | June 12, 2012 at 07:43 AM
It could not be a more tasteless example of Western Imperialism (no doubt the British and European agencies continue to license these products as well). What price the great human family with the AAP in town, eh?
Posted by: John Stone | June 12, 2012 at 06:27 AM