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Toddlers flu shot mercury risk { April 2 2004 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.detnews.com/2004/health/0404/02/a03-110754.htmhttp://www.detnews.com/2004/health/0404/02/a03-110754.htm
Friday, April 2, 2004
Disease centers won't issue mercury alert over flu shots
Infants, toddlers at risk, say critics who argue vaccine may not be safe
By Myron Levin / Los Angeles Times
Hundreds of thousands of infants and toddlers who get flu shots starting this fall could be exposed to a mercury-laced preservative that has been all but eliminated from other pediatric vaccines because of health concerns.
Saying there is no proof of harm from exposure to the preservative thimerosal, officials with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have confirmed that they won’t advise parents and doctors to choose a mercury-free version of the flu vaccine.
This year, flu shots are being added to the government’s “recommend” list of vaccines that should be given to all young children. The CDC’s decision, made despite pleas from parent activist groups and some experts, appears to be at odds with recent federal warnings about exposure to mercury, a potent neurotoxin, and with the government’s successful effort to see mercury removed from other childhood vaccines.
The mercury-free flu vaccine will be more expensive — by about $4 per shot — because it is somewhat harder to make in large quantities than the alternative. If the CDC were to warn parents, demand for thimerosal-free shots would rise, possibly squeezing supplies. Some experts said there was a greater risk in infants and toddlers failing to be vaccinated against the flu because of a shortage than in their being vaccinated with shots containing mercury.
CDC executives wouldn’t discuss their decision, but said in a statement that “the available scientific evidence has not shown thimerosal-containing vaccines to be harmful.”
The American Academy of Pediatrics, which has a membership of 57,000 physicians, is backing the CDC.
But the agency has come under attack from some parent groups. By not advising parents and physicians, the government is “violating the precautionary principle which reminds doctors that, when in doubt, take an action which minimizes the risk of harm,” said Barbara Loe Fisher, co-founder of the National Vaccine Information Center, a parent-led group that promotes safer vaccines.
Preservatives are used by drug companies to prevent the growth of bacteria and fungi in their vaccines.
Some parent groups and researchers believe that thimerosal has contributed to a sharp increase in reported rates of autism and other developmental disorders in children. But vaccine makers and many scientists dispute the connection.
The CDC orders mass quantities of vaccine for state and local health departments that immunize low-income children. Paradoxically, the agency has ordered up to 2 million doses of thimerosal-free vaccine for the coming fall to be sure there is enough for health departments that request it, said Roger Bernier, senior scientist with the CDC’s immunization program.
Dr. Margaret Rennels, who chairs the pediatric group’s committee on infectious diseases, cited manufacturers’ estimates that nearly one-third of a vaccine is lost in the process of removing thimerosal and in packaging the preservative-free version. “It is the judgment of pediatric disease specialists that it would be better to have a third bigger supply given the lack of evidence of harm from thimerosal,” she said.
It’s unclear, however, if high demand for preservative-free vaccine would in fact disrupt supplies.
Three companies produce flu vaccines for the U.S. market. Only one, Aventis Pasteur Inc., a subsidiary of French pharmaceutical giant Aventis SA, is licensed to make the medicine for children as young as 6-24 months.
Aventis makes thimerosal and thimerosal-free vaccine at its Swiftwater, Pa., plant. Len Lavenda, director of public affairs, said Aventis encourages parents who are concerned to ask their doctors to order thimerosal-free vaccines. The company believes “we will be able to produce a sufficient amount” of mercury-free vaccines, Lavenda said, “providing we’re notified early enough.”
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