[INF2FParents] 90 Percent of Flu Shots Contain the Toxin Mercury

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Passing this on from another listserv:

kathyR

Most Americans Surprised, Concerned that 90 Percent

of Flu Shots Contain the Toxin Mercury

Health Officials' Aggressive Flu Shot Campaign May Disregard

Safety, According to Survey of 9,000 Americans

74 Percent

of Respondents Unaware Flu Shots Contain Mercury, 78 Percent Disagree with CDC

About Vaccinating Pregnant Women and Children

PORTLAND, Ore., Nov. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- As health

officials step up their effort to vaccinate Americans against the flu, a new

survey suggests serious concerns over the toxin mercury, an ingredient in over

90 percent of this season's flu shot supply. PutChildrenFirst.org, a

parent-led organization advocating vaccine safety, commissioned a survey of

over 9,000 Americans to learn their plans for getting flu shots, their

knowledge of its ingredients, and who they hold responsible for making sure

vaccines are safe.

The

survey revealed that the overwhelming majority of Americans were unaware that

most flu shots contain mercury and that they would refuse a shot with mercury.

(See page two for the key findings.)

" More

than 75 percent of Americans feel a mercury-containing flu shot should not be

given to a pregnant woman or a child, despite recommendations from medical

authorities to do just that, " said Handley, a founding parent of

PutChildrenFirst.org. Her own son, Jamison, had an adverse reaction to a

flu shot containing mercury in 2003. " I know firsthand how life-changing a

flu shot with mercury can be, since our son began his regression into autism

after his flu shot. "

In

1999, government agencies called for the removal of Thimerosal, the

mercury-based preservative in most vaccines. Then, in 2001, the American Academy of Pediatrics stated that,

" mercury in all of its forms is toxic to the fetus and children, and

efforts should be made to reduce exposure to the extent possible to pregnant

women and children as well as the general population. " Despite these

actions, 90 percent of this season's flu vaccines still contain Thimerosal, and

the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are recommending the

vaccine for pregnant women and children six months and older.

These

recommendations come on the heels of recent studies that reveal new findings

about the neurological effects of mercury and question the effectiveness of flu

shots. Mercury,

the second most toxic element after plutonium, is estimated to be 500 to 1,000

times more toxic than lead.

" A

common myth is that Thimerosal is added to vaccines in 'trace' amounts, "

said Mike Wagnitz, who has over 20 years experience evaluating materials for

mercury and is employed as a senior chemist with the University of Wisconsin.

" The concentration of mercury in a multi-dose flu vaccine vial is 50,000

parts per billion. To put this in perspective, drinking water cannot exceed 2

parts per billion of mercury, and waste is considered hazardous if it has only

200 parts per billion. Is it really safe then to inject pregnant women,

newborns, and infants with levels of mercury 250 times higher than what is

legally classified as hazardous waste? "

Agreeing

that mercury has no place in vaccines, seven states have passed Thimerosal bans

in recent years: California, Delaware,

Illinois, Iowa,

Missouri, New York,

and Washington.

California is

the first to have implemented the ban for the current flu season, but Governor

Schwarzenegger temporarily overturned the ban on November 2 after a shortage of

mercury-free flu shots led to pressure from state medical groups.

" Parents

need to be informed about all aspects of their children's healthcare, including

vaccines, " said Deirdre Imus, President and founder of The Deirdre Imus

Environmental Center for Pediatric Oncology at Hackensack University

Medical Center

and co-founder and co-director, with husband Don Imus, of The Imus Cattle Ranch

for Kids with Cancer. " It doesn't make common sense to inject Thimerosal,

a known neurotoxin, into the bloodstream of our babies. "

This

fall, two studies were published in leading medical journals admitting that

limited data exists to support the effectiveness of flu shots. One study, in

the Journal of the American Medical Association, noted that, " there is

scant data on the efficacy and effectiveness of influenza vaccine in young

children. "

" So,

not only is the flu shot's effectiveness in doubt, there is plenty of evidence

revealing the devastating effects of mercury, " said J.B. Handley, 's

husband and a founder of PutChildrenFirst.org. " Our health

authorities are not being forthcoming about mercury's presence in shots and its

toxicity to the nervous system. Our children deserve better. "

" With

everything we know about the dangers of mercury and the havoc it can wreak on

young, developing brains, there is no excuse for any vaccine to contain

mercury, " said Lyn Redwood, RN, MSN, President of SafeMinds, a nonprofit

committed to ending mercury-induced neurological disorders. " The survey

reveals that Americans are overwhelmingly in the dark about what is in most flu

shots. They do not want a known neurotoxin injected into their children, and

they believe Congress and medical professionals must be more vigilant about

keeping vaccines safe and mercury-free. "

Key

findings from the poll, conducted October 27-30 by Zogby International,

include:

* 74 percent of respondents are unaware that most flu shots contain mercury. * After learning that mercury is an ingredient, 74 percent are less likely to get a flu shot and 86 percent of parents say they are less likely to get their child a flu shot. * 78 percent of respondents believe mercury should not be an ingredient in flu shots given to pregnant women and children. * 73 percent believe the government should warn pregnant women not to get a flu shot if it contains mercury. * More than 70 percent agree that Congress, doctors and medical groups (e.g., the American Academy of Pediatrics) should take responsibility for ensuring that vaccines do not contain mercury. * 80 percent of respondents and 82 percent of parents are willing to pay the $2.50 additional cost for a mercury-free flu shot.

PutChildrenFirst.org

is a parent-led initiative advocating vaccine safety and a division of

Generation Rescue, a nonprofit organization providing parents with information

on the relationship between mercury and its relationship to Autism Spectrum

Disorders. Generation Rescue gives parents information to make informed

decisions about treatment options and physicians. Generation Rescue is a 501©

(3) nonprofit founded in 2005.