- Bows to Pressure from CoMeD

PUNTA del ESTE, Uruguay, July 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Bowing to pressure from the Coalition for Mercury-free Drugs (CoMeD, Inc.) and other organizations, the World Health Organization (WHO) revealed its 2004 guidelines on eliminating, reducing, and replacing Thimerosal in vaccines to public health officials worldwide.

WHO made its disclosure before the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) where it met unprecedented resistance to its defense of the use of neurotoxic mercury in vaccines.  "This is a huge development," says CoMeD's Vice President, David Geier, while speaking at UNEP's INC4 meeting. 

INC4 met June 27-July 2 in Uruguay, to negotiate a global treaty on mercury.  CoMeD and other nongovernmental organizations who participated strongly opposed the use of mercury in human medicines. More importantly, entire continents and many individual nations expressed their desire for mercury-free vaccines.

Moreover, CoMeD is putting intense pressure on the World Health Organization by actively assisting nations in banning Thimerosal-preserved vaccines. One of these nations, Chile, became the first developing country to stop this use of mercury in 2012.  

Cristina Girardi, a member of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile, addressed the opening session of INC4 gathering.  While speaking, she warned, "... to keep the mercury in vaccines is to endanger the vaccine program in a misguided effort to protect a known neurotoxin."

Rev. Lisa K. Sykes, CoMeD's President, brought the danger vaccine mercury represents to a historic level of understanding.  Rev. Sykes counseled, "The de facto, economic prioritization of mercury-free vaccines ... constitutes a double standard in vaccine safety.  This disparity must be corrected rapidly ... and preference ... must shift to mercury-free vaccines globally, if we hope to avoid accusations of discrimination ... in regard to global immunization policy."

Sykes also cited the support of the global United Methodist Church, representing 11.5 million, and the U.S. National Health Freedom Coalition, representing 20 million.  Both these groups support a ban on the use of mercury in vaccines and uphold the right of informed consent for all persons.

The objective of this treaty on mercury is to "to protect human health and the global environment from the release of mercury and its compounds by minimizing and, where feasible, ultimately eliminating global, anthropogenic mercury releases to air, water and land."

SOURCE Coalition for Mercury-Free Drugs (CoMeD)