United Nations Ban of Mercury in Vaccines Urged by U.S. Group

SILVER SPRING, Maryland, April 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- CoMeD - While the United Nations (UN) actively questions the use of vaccines containing a neurotoxic mercury compound, the Coalition for Mercury-Free Drugs (CoMeD) (http://mercury-freedrugs.org), a Maryland-based, non-profit organization, is urging the UN to ban it.

In mid-March, governments were asked to send the UN secretariat "information on mercury use in pharmaceuticals, especially vaccines." The request (http://www.unep.org/hazardoussubstances/Portals/9/Mercury/Documents/INC3/Overview%20of%20documents%20for%20INC3_15%20March%202011_.pdf) was made in preparation for the United Nations Environmental Programme's third intergovernmental negotiating committee (INC3) (http://www.unep.org/hazardoussubstances/Mercury/Negotiations/INC3/tabid/3469/Default.aspx) on mercury, which is scheduled for this fall. The purpose of the INC meetings is to develop a legally-binding, global mercury treaty by 2013.

CoMeD (http://mercury-freedrugs.org) was pleased by this call for information because CoMeD provided scientific data about health hazards caused by mercury in vaccines to various international delegates at the second INC meeting (http://www.unep.org/hazardoussubstances/Mercury/Negotiations/INC2/tabid/3468/Default.aspx) in January in Chiba, Japan.

Since then, CoMeD (http://mercury-freedrugs.org) has publicized new studies proving that mercury in vaccines (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21225508) and dental amalgams, or "silver" fillings (http://www.occup-med.com/content/6/1/2), is associated with neurological diseases (http://jpp.krakow.pl/journal/archive/12_10/articles/14_article.html) such as autism (http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.3109/1547691X.2010.545086) in children and Alzheimer's disease (http://iospress.metapress.com/content/j33p87808363493j/fulltext.pdf) in adults.

One recent study, from Mansoura University in Egypt (http://journals.lww.com/mecpsychiatry/Fulltext/2011/01000/Study_of_some_biomarkers_in_hair_of_children_with.2.aspx?WT.mc_id=HPxADx20100319xMP), explores the connection between heavy metals and learning/behavioral disorders in children. The authors cite Thimerosal (http://www.vaccine-tlc.org/docs/Thimerosal%20Material%20Safety%20Data%20Sheet.pdf), a mercury-based compound used as a preservative in certain vaccines, as a possible factor in autism. They specifically note that research shows "exposure to heavy metals, such as lead and mercury, can impair brain development at very early ages, even at low doses that were earlier deemed 'harmless.'"

Additionally, articles recently published in Folia Neuropathologica (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21225508), Neurochemical Research (http://www.springerlink.com/content/22115401745m3l44/), the Journal of Immunotoxicology (http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.3109/1547691X.2010.545086), the Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology (http://www.occup-med.com/content/6/1/2), and the Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology (http://jpp.krakow.pl/journal/archive/12_10/articles/14_article.html) confirm the toxicity of the dose of mercury in Thimerosal-preserved vaccines (http://mercury-freedrugs.org/docs/090813_fnldrft_EditorialOnSubacuteMercury(Hg)PoisoningByMedicine_r6b.pdf).

In 1999, the U.S. Public Health Service and American Academy of Pediatrics called for Thimerosal to be removed from the U.S. Thimerosal-preserved vaccines (http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm4826a3.htm) "as soon as possible," and Thimerosal has since been removed from most of these U.S. vaccines. A CoMeD analysis (http://mercury-freedrugs.org/docs/20110105_CoMeD_onepager_Preservatives_rb.pdf) shows that replacing Thimerosal (http://www.hhs.gov/fda/faq/vaccines/1858.html) with 2-phenoxyphenol in worldwide vaccines is both safe and economical. Additionally, CoMeD has sued the FDA (http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/comed-sues-fda-to-force-mercury-out-of-medicine-55926807.html) for its failure to comply with the law and enforce preservative safety regulations.

Furthermore, proponents of vaccine safety are asking organizations and individuals who are responsible for international vaccination campaigns, such as those in Africa, to heed the overwhelming scientific research about the human health risks linked to mercury (Thimerosal) and other vaccine ingredients (http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31727_162-20049118-10391695.html).

Rev. Lisa K. Sykes (http://www.umc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=lwL4KnN1LtH&b=6297653&ct=6903307), President of CoMeD (http://mercury-freedrugs.org), is warning groups including the Global Alliance for Vaccines, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to stop spreading mercury to other continents: "While Thimerosal has been removed from most vaccines in the United States, pharmaceutical companies and the World Health Organization continue to dump mercury-laced vaccines on developing countries. No ethic can justify providing prosperous nations with mercury-free vaccines while endangering children in poor nations by exposing them to this neurotoxin."