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NetWellness provides the highest quality health information and education services created and evaluated by faculty of our partner universities.
Friday, July 4, 2008
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NetWellness provides the highest quality health information and education services created and evaluated by faculty of our partner universities.
Friday, July 4, 2008
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Newborn and Infant Care |
Vaccines and Autism08/18/2004 11:55AM |
What infant/toddler vaccines have been linked (alledgedly) to autism? Is there still mercury present in routine vaccines?
You have asked important questions on many parents' minds. It is important to state that the only established side effect of thimerosal in vaccines was redness and swelling at the injection site. thimerosal is an ethylmercury used as a preservative that is quickly and easily excreted from the body in stool.Today, with only one exception, some types of flu vaccine, there are no vaccines regularly administered to children under five years of age that contain thimerosal. Although some flu vaccines do contain thimerosal, there are several non-thimerosal containing alternatives practices may select for their patients. In addition to specific high-risk children, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the CDC now recommend that healthy children between 6 and 24 months of age receive the flu vaccine annually because of their greater risk for severe disease and death from the flu. A list of all vaccines and their thimerosal content is available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on their website at http://www.vaccinesafety.edu/thi-table.htm
Some forms of the Tetanus-Diphtheria vaccine given to older children and adults as booster doses do contain small amounts of thimerosal. The amounts are far less than those considered safe. Additional information about thimerosal and vaccines is available on the web at http://www.cdc.gov/nip/vacsafe/concerns/thimerosal/thimerosal-vacs-facts.htm
Concern has been raised about a link specifically between autism and the MMR vaccine and between any thimerosal containing vaccine and neurodevelopmental disabilities, including but not limited to autism. Interestingly the MMR vaccine has never contained thimerosal nor have the varicella and inactivated polio (IPV) vaccines. In May 2004, the prestigious Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies of Science (NAS) released a report entitled, "Immunization Safety Review: Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccine and Autism." It concludes that there is no scientific evidence to support a link between the MMR vaccine and autism nor is there scientific evidence for a link between thimerosal-containing vaccines and any neurodevelopmental disability including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism or speech and language delays. You can read the full report on the web at http://www.iom.edu/?id=20155
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Mary M. Gottesman, PhD, RN, CPNP, FAAN Associate Professor, Specialty Program Director Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Program College of Nursing The Ohio State University |
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