Do flu shots have aluminum?

[Guest guest]

Hi all,

Could someone tell me if this is right? Is there no aluminum in any

flu vaccine? Wasn't there a study some years back showing a

correspondence with Alzheimers for the regularity of getting flu shots

and relating it the use of aluminum as an adjuvant?

I personally find the person a bit of a thorn in my side, but I should

respond to her,

Avril, scratching head

The links you cite below seem to

be from vaccine-skeptical websites and authors, which can sometimes

jumble together a variety of health concerns relating to vaccines without

regards to the specifics of each. There is no flu vaccine which includes

aluminum as a component; it is well-known that this is not an

aluminum-adjuvanted vaccine so if you come across a website which claims

otherwise you may wish to ask its authors where they are drawing their

information. Those interested in determining which vaccines

contain which ingredients would be better served by going directly to the

package inserts for each vaccine, which always contain a list of

components. There is no basis for concern that aluminum is somehow

secretly present even if it is not listed, as aluminum is openly listed

as an adjuvant for every vaccine in which it is used. For example,

every package insert for a DTaP product lists aluminum as a

component. Package inserts are also a good way to determine whether

thimerosal is present, and how much; part of the irony of the whole

thimerosal debacle was that thimerosal was openly listed as a

preservative for years before it became controversial - one could say

that this was an outrage hiding in plain sight.

To demonstrate the information available from package inserts, here is an

excerpt from the Fluzone package insert:

" Fluzone®, Influenza Virus Vaccine, (Zonal Purified, Subvirion) for

intramuscular use, is a sterile suspension prepared from influenza

viruses propagated in embryonated chicken eggs. The virus-containing

fluids are harvested and inactivated with formaldehyde. Influenza virus

is concentrated and purified in a linear sucrose density gradient

solution using a continuous flow centrifuge. The virus is then chemically

disrupted using a nonionic surfactant, octoxinol-9, (Triton® X-100 – A

registered trademark of Union Carbide, Co.) producing a “split

virus.†The split virus is then further purified by chemical means and

suspended in sodium phosphate-buffered isotonic sodium chloride solution.

Fluzone vaccine has been standardized according to USPHS requirements for

the 2007–2008 influenza season and is formulated to contain 45

micrograms (μg)

hemagglutinin (HA) per 0.5 mL dose, in the recommended ratio of15

μg HA each,

representative ofthe following three prototype strains: A/

Islands/3/2006 (H1N1), A/Wisconsin/67/2005 (H3N2) and

B/Malaysia/2506/2004. 1Gelatin 0.05% is added as a stabilizer. Fluzone

vaccine is supplied in four different presentations: a 5 mL vial of

vaccine which contains the preservative thimerosal [(mercury derivative),

(25 μg

mercury/dose)]; a 0.25 mL prefilled syringe (No Preservative: Pediatric

Dose, for 6–35 months of age) distinguished by a pink

syringe plunger rod; a 0.5 mL prefilled syringe (No Preservative, for 36

months of age and older); and a single dose vial (No Preservative, for 36

months of age and older). There is no thimerosal used in the

manufacturing process of the No Preservative unit dose presentations of

Fluzone vaccine. "

So, to respond to the specific concerns you bring up, there is

formaldehyde present in the vaccine above, but no aluminum. There

is thimerosal present in the multi-dose vial, but not in the single-dose

vials (the " No Preservative " presentations). Of

course, these are not the only ingredients about which parents may be

concerned.

Here are links where you can find the package insert PDFs for some of the

flu vaccines currently in use:

Sanofi Pasteur, Fluzone:

http://www.vaccineshoppe.com/secure/?fa=piexpress

GlaxoKline, Fluarix, FluLaval:

http://www.gsk.com/products/vaccines/us/vaccines-us.htm

Novartis, Fluvirin (scroll to link for full prescribing info):

http://www.novartisvaccines.com/products/influenza.shtml

CSL, Afluria:

www.afluria.com/pi.pdf

MedImmune, FluMist:

http://www.flumist.com/prescribing-information.aspx (this is

the live vaccine so of course includes no

preservatives)

By the way, in providing this information, my intention is not to

position myself as an advocate of the current immunization program.

Rather, I think it's important that vaccine critics be scrupulously

accurate. This is especially crucial in an activist context.

Currently, many people are concerned about the new flu vaccine

requirement for NJ preschoolers. If those fighting this want to be

taken seriously, they must have their facts in order. I am also

aware that vaccine advocates are prone to misstatements and errors and

that these mistakes often get a free ride. The double standard is

not fair, I know, but resisting an entrenched orthodoxy is always going

to be an uphill battle.

Miriam

-------------------------------

Thanks for the heads up. Could you please site your sources for

saying that the flu shot does not contain aluminum?

Everything that I have says it's still in there.

http://www.planetc1.com/cgi-bin/n/v.cgi?c=1 & id=1194472753

http://ezinearticles.com/?Mercury-and-Aluminum-Present-in-Flu-Shots? & id=274744

http://www.peakhealthclinic.com/Wellness%20Pages/Preventing%20the%20Flu.htm

http://www.newswithviews.com/Ciola/greg7.htm

http://www.vran.org/vaccines/flu/flu-tar-babies.htm

Parents have been asking to have the toxins (including formaldehyde)

removed from vaccines for years. So if there are flu shots with all

preservatives and adjuvants removed, it would be good to hear about it.