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Mercury is that the benefits of keeping thimerosal in vac- He is the founder and president of Waterkeeper

a potent cines outweigh the risks and that thimerosal is Alliance and founder and chairman of the
“critical” for low-resource countries that rely non-profit World Mercury Project. Kennedy’s
immuno- on multidose vials as the most affordable op- 2015 book, Thimerosal: Let the Science Speak,
suppressant, tion. One of the AAP’s former presidents has presents extensive evidence supporting the
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which has asserted that, for the good of the global com- immediate removal of mercury from vaccines.
munity, the Academy’s pro-thimerosal position
implications is a “no-brainer.” The WHO’s Global Advisory REFERENCES
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in low-resource Committee on Vaccine Safety states that “no 1. Geier DA, Sykes LK, Geier MR. A review of
thimerosal (Merthiolate) and its ethylmercury
settings where additional studies of the safety of [thimerosal] breakdown product: specific historical consider-
in vaccines are warranted.”
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ations regarding safety and effectiveness. J Toxicol
children The global health authorities making Environ Health B 2007;10:575-596.
already face cavalier and single-minded pronouncements on 2. Food and Drug Administration. “Mercury in drug
and biologic products.” https://worldmercurypro-
numerous “life-saving vaccines” should consider the bigger ject.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Mercuryin-
health picture. For example, exposure to toxic
DrugsandBiologicsFDAupdated_2009.pdf.
other health metals such as mercury can contribute to mal- 3. World Mercury Project. “Mercury in medicine.”
challenges and nutrition and, conversely, malnutrition may also https://worldmercuryproject.org/mercury-facts/
mercury-in-medicine/.
39,40
environmental increase susceptibility to mercury toxicity. 4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Mercury is also a potent immunosuppressant,
pollutants. which has implications in low-resource settings “Thimerosal in vaccines.” https://www.cdc.gov/
vaccinesafety/concerns/thimerosal/index.html.
where children already face numerous other 5. Food and Drug Administration. “Thimerosal and
health challenges and environmental pollutants. 41 vaccines.” Last updated Jan. 5, 2018. https://www.
fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/SafetyAvailabil-
ity/VaccineSafety/UCM096228.
THE TIME IS NOW 6. Risher JF, Tucker P. Alkyl mercury-induced toxic-
The medical establishment’s defense of ity: multiple mechanisms of action. Rev Environ
thimerosal’s safety has proven highly success- Contam Toxicol 2017;240:105-149.
ful in tamping down deeper investigation into 7. Al-Tikriti K, Al-Mufti AW. An outbreak of organo-
mercury poisoning among Iraqi farmers. Bull World
thimerosal and the vaccine industry. Perhaps Health Organ 1976;53(Suppl):15-21.
because major pharmaceutical companies (the 8. Hilmy MI, Rahim SA, Abbas AH. Normal and
makers of vaccines) are among the biggest lethal mercury levels in human beings. Toxicol
1976;6:155-159.
advertisers in the U.S., the mainstream press 9. Burbacher TM, Shen DD, Liberato N, Grant KS,
has accepted these government orthodoxies Cernichiari E, Clarkson T. Comparison of blood and
and ignored the ample evidence showing that brain mercury levels in infant monkeys exposed to
thimerosal is toxic. In fact, the thimerosal saga methymercury or vaccines containing thimerosal.
Environ Health Perspect 2005;113(8):1015-1021.
illustrates the aggressive, knee-jerk rejection 10. Dórea JG. Integrating experimental (in vitro
by the press, the medical community and allied and in vivo) neurotoxicity studies of low-dose
financial interests of any scientific information thimerosal relevant to vaccines. Neurochem Res
suggesting that established medical practices are 2011;36(6):927-938.
harming public health. Nevertheless, continuing 11. Rooney JP. The retention time of inorganic mercury
in the brain—a systematic review of the evidence.
to wait for more research is not a reasonable Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 2014;274(3):425-435.
public policy option. Thimerosal is dangerous 12. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
to human health and should immediately be General recommendations on immunization: rec-
removed from all vaccines (as well as other ommendations of the Advisory Committee on Im-
munization Practices (ACIP). MMWR 2011;60(2).
pharmaceutical and cosmetic products), both 13. National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986.
in the U.S. and globally. https://www.congress.gov/bill/99th-congress/
house-bill/5546.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has been one of the 14. Kennedy, RF Jr. Thimerosal: Let the Science Speak.
New York, NY: Skyhorse Publishing; 2015.
world’s leading environmental activists for 15. Joint statement of the American Academy of Pedi-
over three decades, known for his advocacy for atrics (AAP) and the United States Public Health
transparent government and rigorous science. Service (USPHS). Pediatrics 1999;104(3).

34 Wise Traditions SPRING 2018