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The government is likely going to recommend that Americans only get flu vaccines that don’t contain the ingredient called thimerosal. It’s a preservative that contains mercury, but it’s not actually super relevant – the majority of flu vaccines, including all of those recommended for kids, haven’t actually contained thimerosal for decades.
Breaking it down even further, there’s not any strong evidence that thimerosal is dangerous, but it does contain a type of mercury. Some mercury (like the kind in seafood) can be toxic, but the type used in this preservative is generally broken down easily by our bodies. There have also been some discredited theories about links to autism, though there is no evidence for that. Still, the U.S. voted to remove it from kids’ vaccines back in 2001, and it’s now only used in multi-dose vials, which aren’t common. Only large health centers tend to order these bulk vials, and the vast majority of doses given in the U.S. are single-use.
The good news is that there’s probably enough single-dose, thimerosal-free vaccine to get a flu shot to every American who wants one, even if this rule goes into effect. We don’t expect this will impact employers.
Yes, some vaccines do contain aluminum, but it’s one of the most studied ingredients in vaccines, and there’s plenty of evidence that it’s safe and actually very helpful for mounting an immune response. It’s in the news because RFK Jr. has repeatedly cited aluminum as a cause for concern in vaccines or as the reason children have allergies, none of which are supported by the evidence.
Aluminum salts are used in some vaccines to encourage a more robust immune response and boost the effectiveness of the shot. In very large doses, aluminum can cause health issues, but the amount in vaccines is minuscule compared to what we breathe from dust or come into contact with in food - a single slice of American cheese has 10x the amount of aluminum than all the vaccines a baby has in their first 6 months.
There has been one small U.S. study that found a potential link between aluminum in vaccines and increased childhood asthma, but it was small and had limitations, and a much larger Danish study found no such result. There have been hundreds of studies proving the safety and effectiveness of childhood vaccines, and they’re such an important standard of care to prevent infant deaths. Since they’re proven to save lives from much more dangerous things (think polio or smallpox), most pediatricians agree that one single study showing a potential link to asthma rates isn’t enough to justify delaying or skipping shots at this point.
Overall, the studies show that childhood vaccines, and the aluminum in many of them, are safe and effective. On top of that, they all go through clinical trials and then are continuously monitored by the CDC and FDA to watch for any issues.
If you have 12 minutes to listen, we love this conversation with a pediatrician about how he’s talking about vaccines with parents. We think there are great parallels here for how employers can discuss health issues with their teams, and some of the challenges with health communication in the modern age.