No evidence of risk of thimerosal in vaccines to infants, children or adults

09 May 2005, The Straits Times

Question

No evidence of risk of thimerosal in vaccines to infants, children or adults

Asthma due to mercury in vaccine? 

ST Forum (pH8) carried a letter by Dr Tan Soon Kiam responding to an earlier report that allergic rhinitis made children's asthma worse (ST, May 3). Dr Tan said that allergic rhinitis and asthma were not diseases but signs of a more serious medical condition, namely an impaired immune system. He said that an impaired immune system was caused by vaccines given to children over the years to protect them from diseases like tuberculosis, small pox, polio, whooping cough, diphtheria, hepatitis B and influenza. He claimed that the in many vaccines, a preservative called Thimerosal containing mercury had been added, and it was this mercury that gained access into the body to damage the immune system. He said that it was past the time to review the practice of childhood immunization using vaccines containing such mercury preservatives and substitute them with mercury-free vaccines. Dr Tan also urged those going for flu vaccination to ask for vaccine without mercury preservative.

Reply

Reply from MOH 

No evidence of risk of thimerosal in vaccines to infants, children or adults 

'In Asthma due to mercury in vaccine?' (ST,9th May), Dr Tan Soon Kiam commented that thimerosal in vaccines given to children to protect them against childhood infectious diseases causes damage to the immune system. 

The Ministry of Health would like to highlight that the World Health Organisation (WHO) Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety has concluded that there is currently no evidence of risk to infants, children or adults exposed to minute doses of thimerosal in vaccines. Only minor side effects, like swelling and redness at the injection site have been experienced. 

So far there have been no scientific studies that have conclusively linked thimerosal in vaccines with impaired immunity or other conditions such as asthma, autism and neuro-developmental disorders. 

The WHO has stated that the risk from side effects from thimerosal is theoretical and at most, extremely small and that the risk from thimerosal in vaccines must be weighed against the devastating risk of diseases that can effectively be prevented by vaccines. 

Nonetheless, vaccine manufacturers have taken steps to reformulate their vaccines to reduce potential theoretical risks from cumulative exposure to thimerosal.