http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-ed-vaccine7aug07,1,1904352.story
EDITORIAL
Safer Vaccines for Children
August 7, 2004
Newborns with parents who conscientiously follow their doctors' advice
become virtual pincushions. Babies get pricked and jabbed with needles
nearly two dozen times in the first 18 months of life to protect them
against once-devastating diseases like measles, tetanus and hepatitis.
Added to the list is a new recommendation for toddlers and pregnant women:
flu shots. But few parents are likely to be aware that along with the flu
vaccine, their kids might be getting injected with potentially dangerous
amounts of mercury.
Drug makers have long added mercury-laced thimerosal to some vaccines to
prevent bacterial growth. Mercury can cause neurological damage and
learning problems, and many scientists worry about growing environmental
exposures to it. There is a sharp and unresolved scientific debate over
whether thimerosal in vaccines has contributed to a steep rise in reported
autism cases.
Thimerosal is often added when vaccines are packaged in multi-dose
containers because repeatedly piercing the vial's rubber stopper with a
needle can introduce bacteria. Until five years ago, kids getting a full
range of injections were often exposed to mercury levels well above
Environmental Protection Agency guidelines.
But beginning in 1999, after requests from federal health officials and the
Academy of Pediatrics, pharmaceutical manufacturers voluntarily switched to
single-dose vials, which have only trace amounts of thimerosal, for most
children's vaccines.
The problem arises again because of flu shots. The only maker of influenza
vaccine for toddlers, Adventis Pasteur Inc., already markets its product in
both single-dose, thimerosal-free vials as well as multi-dose packages that
contain the preservative.
Assemblywoman Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills) has responded with a bill that
would ban more than trace amounts of thimerosal in vaccines for children
younger than 3 and pregnant women. Adventis opposes the bill, hinting that
it might lead to vaccine shortages. To address this concern, Pavley amended
her bill to allow thimerosal-containing vaccines to be used in the event of
a public health emergency.
Iowa has passed a ban on thimerosal, and similar measures are pending in
other states and Congress. AB 2943 passed the Assembly in May and could
come before the full Senate by mid-August. Common sense and prudence argue
for its passage.
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Copyright 2004 Los Angeles Times