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Is there a flu shot that does NOT contain mercury?  

post #1 of 37
9/24/08 at 11:35pm
Thread Starter 
Last night I went searching the net for the package inserts of all the flu shot brands I could find and out of all of them I couldnt find a single one that was Thimerosal (mercury) free (except the mist) Is there one out there without mercury? Also if anyone knows of a brand not listed below please add it. Here is what I found:


This information is directly from the package inserts.
Fluaval
http://www.*********/vaccines/fluaval.html
Quote:
• Thimerosal, a mercury derivative, is added as a preservative. Each 0.5 mL dose contains 25 mcg mercury.
Flulaval (might be the same as Fluaval)
http://us.gsk.com/products/assets/us_flulaval.pdf
Quote:
Thimerosal, a mercury derivative, is added as a preservative. Each 0.5 mL dose contains 25 mcg mercury.
Flumist
http://www.*********/vaccine/flumist_pi.pdf

Agrippal S-1
http://www.*********/v/agrippal.html
Quote:
Preservative: Thimerosal0,05 mg per 0,5 mL dose.
Fluvirin
http://www.*********/a/fluvirin.html
Quote:
Preservative:Thiomersal 0,01% m/v
http://www.fda.gov/CBER/label/fluvirinLB.pdf
Quote:
Prefilled syringe, 0.5-mL. Thimerosal, a mercury derivative used during manufacture, is removed by subsequent purification steps to a trace amount (≤ 1 mcg mercury per 0.5-mL dose).
Fluviral
http://www.*********/v/fluviral.html

Quote:
Do not administer this vaccine to individuals known to be sensitive to thimerosal or gelatin.
Thimerosal 0.01% is present in both whole and split-virion preparations as a preservative. Split-virion vaccine also contains 0.025% gelatin as a stabilizer and trace residual amounts of deoxycholate
Fluzone
http://www.*********/v/fluzone.html
Quote:
Thimerosal 0.01% is added as a preservative.
http://www.fda.gov/CBER/label/fluzoneLB.pdf
Quote:
Multi-dose vial, 5 mL, contains thimerosal, a mercury derivative, added as a preservative. Each 0.5 mL dose contains 25 ÎĽg mercury.

Afluria
http://novaccine.com/pdffiles/afluri...age_insert.pdf
Quote:
Thimerosal, a mercury derivative, is added as a preservative; each 0.5 mL dose contains 24.5 micrograms (mcg) of mercury
http://www.afluria.com/docs/pi.pdf
Quote:
5 mL multi-dose vial containing ten doses. Thimerosal, a mercury derivative, is
added as a preservative; each 0.5 mL dose contains 24.5 micrograms (mcg) of
mercury

Fluarix
http://us.gsk.com/products/assets/us_fluarix.pdf
Quote:
Thimerosal is used at the early stages of manufacture and is removed by subsequent purification steps to a trace amount (≤1 mcg mercury per dose). Each dose may also contain residual amounts of hydrocortisone ≤0.0016 mcg, gentamicin sulfate ≤0.15 mcg, ovalbumin ≤1 mcg, formaldehyde ≤50 mcg, and sodium deoxycholate ≤50 mcg from the manufacturing process.
http://us.gsk.com/products/assets/us_fluarix.pdf
Quote:
Thimerosal is used at the early stages of manufacture and is removed by subsequent purification steps to a trace amount (≤1 mcg mercury per dose). Each dose may also contain residual amounts of hydrocortisone ≤0.0016 mcg, gentamicin sulfate ≤0.15 mcg, ovalbumin ≤1 mcg, formaldehyde ≤50 mcg, and sodium deoxycholate ≤50 mcg from the manufacturing process.
Even though they say it is removed there are still trace amounts. So that does not equal it not being in there anymore.

There are many more brands out there but I havnt seen one yet that dosnt contain at least trace amounts of mercury. This site here has the vax's listed and how much mercury it contains. http://poisonevercure.150m.com/vacci...ge_inserts.htm
post #2 of 37
9/24/08 at 11:48pm
There are flu shots that claim they are thimerosal free but they are also still manufactured in it so technically, trace amounts still exist. So to answer your question, no.
post #3 of 37
9/25/08 at 11:22am
My dad was telling me that you can actually request for them to get a thimerasol free one. Is he talking about one that is actually "free" of it or perhaps it is viewed as free of it but has trace amounts. This was last year. Were they still using the "full" mercury ones last year and maybe these trace ones were what you could request??
post #4 of 37
9/25/08 at 12:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kimmiepie View Post
My dad was telling me that you can actually request for them to get a thimerasol free one. Is he talking about one that is actually "free" of it or perhaps it is viewed as free of it but has trace amounts. This was last year. Were they still using the "full" mercury ones last year and maybe these trace ones were what you could request??
You can "request" a thimerasol free flu shot but they are still manufactured, leaving trace amounts. Read the insert package at your doctor's office.
post #5 of 37
9/25/08 at 2:11pm
I thought FluMist didn't have any being a live virus??? I still don't recommend it because of the way it attacks the brain.
post #6 of 37
9/25/08 at 3:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MCatLvrMom2A&X
Is there a flu shot that does NOT contain mercury?
Yes. I had to read the package inserts carefully, but I did find one that's approved for pediatric use.

Most injected flu shots use thimerosal in the manufacturing process, so even when they are filtered at the end there are still trace amounts in single-dose syringes. Multi-dose vials have 25mcg per 0.5 mL dosages.

The company that makes "Fluzone" claims they don't use any in the manufacturing process and none is added to the single-dosage syringes. I don't know if you would have to ask for them specifically? I'd imagine most practices would use multi-dose vials as it'd be more cost-effective. I'm just guessing, though.
post #7 of 37
9/25/08 at 3:36pm

Mercury free flu vaccines

Fluzone single dose vial or prefilled syringe (ages 6 months and over)
Flumist live intranasal spray (ages 2 – 49)
Afluria single dose vial (ages 18 and over)

The following contain less than 1 mcg of mercury:
Fluvirin pre-filled syringe (ages 4 and over)
Fluarix (ages 18 and over)
post #8 of 37
9/25/08 at 7:38pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
The following contain less than 1 mcg of mercury:
Fluvirin pre-filled syringe (ages 4 and over)
Fluarix (ages 18 and over)
Even a mcg is to much IMO to be injected into the body

Fluzone http://www.fda.gov/CBER/label/fluzoneLB.pdf Single dose preservative free
Quote:
1)
Prefilled syringe, 0.25 mL, no preservative, pediatric dose, for 6 through 35 months of age, distinguished by a pink syringe plunger rod;
2)
Prefilled syringe, 0.5 mL, no preservative, for 36 months of age and older;
3)
Single-dose vial, 0.5 mL, no preservative, for 36 months of age and older;
There is no thimerosal used in the manufacturing process of the No Preservative single-dose presentations of Fluzone vaccine.
Afluria http://www.afluria.com/docs/pi.pdf
Quote:
• 0.5 mL preservative-free, single-dose, pre-filled syringe.
The single-dose formulation is preservative-free; thimerosal, a mercury derivative,is not used in the manufacturing process for this formulation.
That is good to know for those that insist on getting the flu shot at least make sure it is one of these 2 brands. Although there are other nasties used in the manufacturing process.
post #9 of 37
9/25/08 at 7:39pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by ZoeyZoo View Post
I thought FluMist didn't have any being a live virus??? I still don't recommend it because of the way it attacks the brain.
Flumist is mercury free since it is a live virus I just added it to the list so the package insert could be seen.
post #10 of 37
9/25/08 at 7:42pm
Thread Starter 
*
post #11 of 37
10/1/08 at 12:46pm

how to request thimerosal-free vaccine

I'm in the middle of requesting my pediatrician to order us some preservative-free (pediatric) Fluzone for my four-year-old. We forgot to get the shot last year, and when he got the flu last winter he got pneumonia... so much fun. Since then he has had recurring respiratory problems, basically mild asthma. So for us a flu shot this year is a no-brainer.

I'll let you know how it goes, but I'm not hopeful. The nurse had never heard of such a thing, but she thought that if we somehow managed to buy the flu shot ourselves then the doctor's office could administer it. Has anyone had luck doing something like that, and how did it they manage to buy it?
post #12 of 37
10/1/08 at 7:52pm
Are you sure he had influenza? Was it a strain covered by the vaccine?
post #13 of 37
10/1/08 at 9:01pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
We forgot to get the shot last year, and when he got the flu last winter he got pneumonia... so much fun. Since then he has had recurring respiratory problems, basically mild asthma. So for us a flu shot this year is a no-brainer.
If I missunderstood what you said I'm sorry but it sounds like you are thinking the flu shot will prevent him from getting pnumonia but the flu shot will NOT keep him from getting pnemonia those are 2 totally different things. And it will only protect against the strains in the vax.
post #14 of 37
10/1/08 at 9:12pm
I read it to mean that she thinks having the flu made him vulnerable to pneumonia.
post #15 of 37
10/1/08 at 10:16pm
Thread Starter 
Ah OK thank you for clarifying that

Does getting the flu make you more vulnerable to pneumonia? I had never heard that before.
post #16 of 37
10/2/08 at 10:17am
Not that I am aware of. There is a relationship between the bacterial vaccines and pneumonia, but that is unrelated to the flu. Last year was a particularly bad year for pneumonia, and I have my opinions, but the flu vaccine is not a magic bullet, likely to keep a person under immune stress healthy in the face of the pathogens. I suspect that a lot of the folks who had pneumonia last year DID have the flu vax, particularly kids. But that's just a hunch.
post #17 of 37
10/3/08 at 3:09am
this is a great site!

Lists ALL the U.S. licensed vaccines and their ingredients for comparison. Live links to the ingredients themselves and articles about their nature.

http://www.novaccine.com

go to "specific-vaccines". Lists several with no mercury and no thimerosol. However most contain other horrible ingredients...such as MSG and antibiotics!
post #18 of 37
10/7/08 at 11:38am
Thanks for all the info! I wrote into a local mothers' group in our area (north of Boston) and have some leads to thimerosal-free flu shots, but still have to call around.

Quote:
Originally Posted by wallacesmum View Post
Are you sure he had influenza? Was it a strain covered by

the vaccine?
Yes and no (at least the time that we tested, can't be sure that one of the other times we were all sick we didn't have a different strain of flu.) Actually, DS may have had up to three pneumonia attacks last winter-- one where only our pediatrician saw mucus in the lung in the xray, one where both pediatrician and radiologist saw a patch, and a third time where my son began wheezing again so we just threw the steroids at him without an xray. He actually lost weight and didn't grow at all last winter, so he's now the shortest kid in his preschool class (down from 70th percentile in weight and height on his 3rd birthday.)

I didn't mean that the flu caused the pneumonia or the asthma, but getting extremely sick with the flu definitely weakened him so that he got the pneumonia right after. Now he's in a state where if he gets the least little cold he begins to wheeze and struggle for breath, so he has to go on albuterol and an inhaled steroid for at least 3 weeks.
Also, he never had attacks like this before he got the flu last year.

I know there are lots of no-vax mothers here, but I feel that everyone has to make the choice for their own family. In our case, for whatever reason my son is vulnerable to respiratory problems and the good of a flu shot outweighs the potential negatives. If he avoids catching one less illness this season, that means for us a month less of medication and interrupted growth.

He's not a toddler anymore, and we have no autism or history of reactions to vaccinations in our family or extended family, thank goodness. As for why our son has respiratory weakness but others do not, it may be a combination of genetics and living in the city. For the rest, this is a kid who was breastfed for almost 3 years, fed 90% home-cooked organic food, cloth-diapered, we use homemade laundry detergent and shampoos, etc. in the best traditions of the Mothering community, so I feel I did the best I could to give him a good start in life. We just have to hope he grows out of the asthma.

That said, there isn't any need to introduce heavy metals into his body, so if I have an alternative, I'll take it!
post #19 of 37
10/7/08 at 11:45am
That sounds very unpleasant, and stressful! Have you read anything about the relationship between vitamin D deficiency and flu?
post #20 of 37
10/10/08 at 12:57am
yes, here's a great recent article

"Avoid the Flu Shot, Take Vit. D Instead" by Donald W. Miller, Jr., MD

http://www.lewrockwell.com/miller/miller27.html
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Mothering › Forums › Health › Vaccinations › Is there a flu shot that does NOT contain mercury?