Why Is Mercury Still In Flu Shots?

[Guest guest]

Why Is Mercury Still In Flu Shots? A Good Question With No

Good Answer

By Tim Kasemodel

A while back Twyla Ramos shared some e-mails between herself and the

CDC

regarding mercury content in our vaccine supply. Her persistence for a

clear answer was inspirational but the result was shocking; no one is

checking to see if they are truly mercury free.

I want to share with you the result of phone conversations I had with

the CDC regarding the supply of thimerosal-free flu vaccines. I

specifically

wanted to ascertain how the CDC orders flu vaccine and when we can in

fact expect increasing supplies of mercury-free flu vaccines as has

for

years

been promised. The following is an informal recollection of my

discussions with these CDC employees.

In April of 2007, I called Orta, the Vaccines for Children

Program

Project Officer for Minnesota to discuss how the Minnesota Department

of

Health orders vaccines for the VFC Program. The purpose of the call

was

to determine how Minnesota could move forward with the procurement of

vaccines

that are all 100% mercury free.

I explained my understanding that, except for the flu vaccine, all

infant (under 3 years) vaccines ordered for the Vaccines for Children

Program are

" preservative " free, and that I was aware that this did not

necessarily

mean " mercury free. " Ms. Orta explained that the state vaccine

programs are

encouraged to order both mercury-free and mercury-containing flu

vaccines. This is because the CDC receives only a certain amount of

mercury-free flu

vaccine from the manufacturers and those are " distributed evenly

among

all states " in the VFC program. If a state were to order all mercury-

free

vaccines, and the CDC were only able to deliver half of those

ordered,

then they would be short by half of their needed supply.

I inquired if the manufacturers were given orders for all mercury-

free

vaccines for Minnesota, why would the manufacturers not then produce

all

mercury-free vaccines for Minnesota? She reiterated that the supply

must

be distributed evenly among the states, regardless of the laws within

the

state. She added that the manufacturers only make a limited supply

each

year. I then asked Ms. Orta why they could not simply fill the

balance with

the mercury-containing vaccine, allowing us to send the message we

want

them to produce more mercury-free, yet still get the total amount of

vaccine

requested. The answer was that Minnesota would not have ordered any,

so

there would be none to deliver, and that is why the ordering of

mercury-containing vaccines is encouraged.

I told Ms. Orta that it appeared to me that the CDC was in the

position

of discouraging the production of mercury-free vaccines by telling

the

states

to order vaccines that contain mercury. She told me that the CDC goes

to

the manufacturers " with their tail between their legs, asking for as

many

thimerosal-free vaccines as they can make, " but since they only make

a

limited supply, the CDC can only get a limited supply. I responded

that the

message I have been hearing from the manufacturers is that they would

make more, but the demand is not there and many mercury-free vaccines

go

unsold

every year. I then repeated that it seemed to me that the CDC is

controlling the demand and supply of mercury containing vaccines by

being

the middle man in the equation, and that they could do the most good

by

simply sending the message to the manufacturers they would want ALL

mercury

free flu vaccine as soon as possible.

At this point, Ms Orta gave me the name and phone number of Dr. Greg

Wallace, MD, MPH, CDC National Immunization Program, who she stated

was a

" negotiator " with the vaccine manufacturers. On September 17th 2007,

I

called Dr. Wallace and explained that Orta had referred me to

him.

I asked Dr. Wallace to elaborate on how he orders the flu vaccine

from

the manufacturers and how the supply of mercury-free flu vaccines

could

be increased for Minnesota.

Dr. Wallace repeated many of the same things that I had heard earlier

from Ms. Orta. He added that the reason the manufacturers are not

increasing the

production of mercury-free flu vaccine is that they always have

leftover

supplies that go unused. He asked why they would produce more if they

can

not sell them. I asked Dr. Wallace why there were any leftover

mercury

free vaccines when the CDC could simply take them all and give them

to the

states. He stated that the individual states must " make a judgment "

as

to how many mercury-free vaccines the state would need, that the

state would

not know what the eventual supply could be. I explained that during

the

past years of working with the Minnesota Department of Health,

advocates

for mercury-free vaccines have heard time and time again that the

manufacturers are working hard to produce more mercury-free vaccines

and

will eventually phase thimerosal out completely, thus no need for

legislation mandating a preference. I added that his explanation

seemed

to contradict what advocates have been hearing from the

MDH. Again, it appeared to me that the production of mercury-free

vaccines is now stalled due to the ordering practices set up by the

CDC,

to which he

offered no comment.

I explained to Dr. Wallace that there is a " status quo, " where the

production of mercury-free vaccines is no longer going to increase as

long as the CDC continues to recommend that states purchase

mercury-containing vaccines. He said that " people want multi-dose

vials

of vaccines " , implying the reason for the low supply of mercury-free

vaccines was because " people " want vaccines with mercury. I answered

by

saying " people " are not demanding mercury in their vaccines, the

physicians and providers are, at the encouragement of the CDC. I

explained that " people " do not know that mercury is in their

vaccines. I

suggested that " people " may not be in such a big hurry to demand the

vaccine if they were aware it contained mercury.

I went on to tell Dr. Wallace that I am working on legislation in

Minnesota that would require that people are informed if a vaccine

contains mercury, and that seemed to be a simple way to increase the

demand for mercury-free vaccines. I added that advocates for

mercury-free vaccines have been having a hard time passing the

legislation due to opposition from the Department of Health and the

CDC.

Dr. Wallace said that the CDC does not get involved with legislation.

I

responded by saying the CDC funds groups like the Immunization Action

Coalition, who are actively opposing our current legislation, so,

technically, they do.

At this point Dr. Wallace's pleasant attitude quickly disappeared,

explaining that if I had no other questions he had other things to

do. I

thanked him for his time and said goodbye.

Personally, I now have more questions than answers. It seems to me

that

further inquiry is needed to determine if the CDC is bound by law

that

mercury-free flu vaccine be " distributed evenly among all states " or

if

it is simply their choice to ignore individual state laws. One very

clear question that comes to me is " What is it that the CDC is afraid

would happen if some states got all mercury-containing flu vaccine

and

others were given all mercury-free flu vaccine? " as mandated by law

in

seven states? To me, one very clear answer emerges.