Battle Lines Drawn Over Mercury in Shots
As lawmakers in about 20 states press for bans on mercury in children's vaccines, they are meeting stiff resistance from influential health and medical organizations, including groups that get substantial funding from drug makers and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Seven states have adopted the anti-mercury bills -- California being one of the first.
California's law, passed in 2004 and to take effect July 1, will prohibit shots with more than a trace of thimerosal for pregnant women and children younger than 3. In recent weeks, similar bills have been defeated in at least five states.
The push for legislation comes long after the uproar over continued use of thimerosal, a mercury-based antibacterial agent, appeared to subside in 1999, when manufacturers began phasing it out of routine pediatric vaccines.
But the controversy flared anew when flu shots containing thimerosal were added to the childhood immunization schedule in 2004 and the CDC refused to recommend thimerosal-free shots for infants and pregnant women.
Angered by the CDC's refusal -- and fearing a backslide into more thimerosal use -- state lawmakers and anti-mercury advocates began pushing for outright thimerosal bans.
The legislation faces opposition from groups such as the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Immunization Action Coalition -- a stance that anti-mercury advocates say defies logic.
"We're trying to get [mercury] out of the environment," said Marilyn Rasmussen, a Washington state senator and sponsor of a thimerosal bill that was signed into law last month.
"Why would we be injecting it into babies? We've got to be smarter than that."
Mercury can damage the nervous system, and infants and toddlers are thought to be particularly at risk because of their low body weight and rapidly developing brains. That concern is behind wide-ranging initiatives to cut mercury pollution from industrial plants and warn pregnant women to limit intake of some types of fish.
The American Academy of Pediatrics and its allies, including some state health departments, say there is no proof that the small amount of mercury in vaccines is harmful. They argue that legal restrictions could undermine confidence in vaccines -- causing people to skip their shots -- and lead to shortages.
- U.S. Won't Alert Parents, Doctors on Mercury in Flu Shots for Kids Apr 02, 2004
- Drug Firm Fights Ban on Vaccine Preservative Aug 06, 2004
- Opposition to Mercury Ban Waning Jun 23, 2004
