Thimerosal in Flu Vaccine? YES - Dr. Buttar's Blog
Yesterday I spoke at a local private school, where I talked about Executive Dysfunction and the change in what is considered “normal” as our society moves along the continuum in response to changes in our environment.
After my presentation, there were a few educators present who had some questions regarding my work as a Defeat Autism Now! provider. One of those questions was regarding the flu vaccine and if there is thimerosal in it. The woman who asked the question reported to me that her daughter had asked her pediatrician about the safety of the flu vaccine because she was considering whether or not to give it to her child. The woman before me (the grandmother of said child) indicated that the pediatrician in question responded to the concerned mother, “Of course the flu vaccine is safe! There hasn’t been thimerosal in vaccines for six years!”
This is an outright lie.
Read more at Marcella Piper-Terry’s Blog
Tags: Dr. Buttar, Dr. Rashid Buttar, flu vaccine, thimerosal, vaccine
August 24th, 2008 at 12:04 am
Um, no. Actually it’s Marcella Piper-Terry who’s outright lying. First of all, nobody’s claiming Thimerosal has been removed from all childhood flu vaccines, only all the other childhood vaccines required by the age of two. Second, the great U.S. Thimerosal purge occurred in 2002, not 2004 as Ms. Piper-Terry claims…but of course who’s counting? Certainly not this woman who justifies giving out harmful medical advice by having such a firm grasp of the details. Third, while it is true at the time that some childhood vaccine reserves w/ Thimerosal did continue to float around a while after the purge that’s certainly not the case today. They’re certainly not still using flu vaccines from before 2002. Anyone else remember the flu vaccine shortage a few years ago? New flu vaccines had to be made because they ran out of old ones. But again, no one claims Thimerosal has been removed from all flu vaccines anyway, only the other vaccines. Given that those details were not explained by Ms. Piper-Terry, I’m left wondering whether she’s merely attempting to knock down a straw man by calling doctors liars for saying something that they never said in the first place.
Fourth, all of this is nothing but a red herring argument anyway since such small traces of Thimerosal in vaccines have been scientifically proven to have no link to autism or serious negative side effects. Remember, prior to 2002, in the late 90’s Scandinavia and Canada both removed Thimerosal from the majority of their vaccines too. Since both of these purges, the epic fail of the anti-vaccine movement has been that there has been no significant reduction of autism. And in California, the rate has even increased since 2002. This leads rational scientific minds to only one possible conclusion: VACCINES NEITHER CAUSE NOR CONTRIBUTE TO AUTISM!
Even if you were to argue that vaccines were only one of several causes/contributors to autism or that autism is the result of “too much too soon”, your hypothesis is still sunk as again we would expect to have seen a dramatic decrease in the rate of autism after the rather dramatic reduction of Thimerosal in vaccines. THAT HASN’T HAPPENED! This leads us to another rather definitive conclusion: either vaccines are not responsible for autism or they play such a minor role in autism (since such a dramatic reduction in Thimerosal showed no significant change) as to make the whole “debate” over Thimerosal unproductive, impractical, and just simply a waste of time, effort, and money.
And lastly, I should warn you that there’s Vitamin C in oranges. Vitamin C has been proven dangerous in large doses so keep it away from your kids. If you’re a rational person who understands why this is a absurd warning, you have no excuse not to recognize why your own position on vaccines is equally absurd. Good day.
Quotes and sources:
“From time to time, rumors circulate that thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative once used in several vaccines (and still used in some flu vaccine), could contribute to ASDs. However, valid scientific studies have shown there is no link. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American Medical Association (AMA), the CDC, and the Institute of Medicine (IOM) agree that science does not support a link between thimerosal in vaccines and autism.” -American Academy of Pediatrics (http://www.aap.org/healthtopics/Immunizations.cfm)
“The author concludes that recent studies have found no association between MMR vaccination and autism. The frequent embryologic neuroanatomic abnormalities found in children with autism lessen the likelihood that MMR immunization is a major risk factor. The Immunization Safety Review Committee of the Institute of Medicine and a special American Academy of Pediatrics panel have concluded that evidence does not support MMR immunization as a risk factor for autism.” -RICHARD SADOVSKY, M.D., American Academy of Family Physicians (http://www.aafp.org/afp/20020301/tips/14.html)
“On May 18th, 2004, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released its eighth and final report from its Immunization Safety Review Committee. Based on a thorough review of clinical and epidemiological studies, neither the mercury-based vaccine preservative thimerosal nor the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine are associated with autism, says the new report. Furthermore, the hypotheses regarding how the MMR vaccine and thimerosal could trigger autism lack supporting evidence and are theoretical only. Further research to find the cause of autism should be directed toward other lines of inquiry that are supported by current knowledge and evidence and offer more promise for providing an answer, said the committee that wrote the report. The American Medical Association (AMA) lauds the process that went into the creation of this scientific report and applauds the IOM and the CDC for their strong efforts in continuing to ensure the safety of the vaccines that are administered in the United States through post-market surveillance and studies such as this.” -American Medical Association (http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/13703.html”
“Some people believe increased exposure to thimerosal (from the addition of important new vaccines recommended for children) explains the higher prevalence in recent years. However, evidence from several studies examining trends in vaccine use and changes in autism frequency does not support such an association. Furthermore, a scientific review* by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) concluded that “the evidence favors rejection of a causal relationship between thimerosal-containing vaccines and autism.” CDC supports the IOM conclusion.” –Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (http://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/concerns/thimerosal.htm)
“There is much debate regarding the correlation of childhood vaccines and the occurrence of autism in children. The weight of currently available scientific evidence does not support the hypothesis that vaccines cause autism. We recognize there is considerable public interest in this issue.” -U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Resources (http://www.hhs.gov/autism/)
August 24th, 2008 at 2:29 am
[...] I finally couldn’t take it anymore. I had to comment on this anti-vaccine kooks silly blog. My comment is awaiting moderation and so I can’t guarantee it’ll stay on the site but [...]
August 29th, 2008 at 11:24 am
Dear Skepacabra,
Wow!!! You like to quote a lot of People, Worthless Websites and Baseless Studies. I am surprised to see someone of your background take a stab at this subject when clearly you have no idea what Autism is. First, let me ask you if you have a child with Autism. Do you? I didn’t think so. Do you have Autism? Again, I didn’t think so. Well, then again you might say that you know someone with Autism or that you know someone that has a child with Autism. However, does that make you an expert in Autism? Again, I didn’t think so.
Ignorant people such as yourself (In no disrespect) feel that you have an obligation to try and make yourself feel superior than others by quoting other people and baseless studies; thinking that we have not already read them and figured out where the studies went wrong. Please, don’t think that you are educating people on this subject when clearly you have no idea as to what you are talking about. I feel sorry for you because you absolutely think that people are going to retaliate against your plagiaristic website and baseless ideas and somehow make you famous overnight. I truly feel that you need to go back to school and take a course on media journalism or something in a similar field and try again.
By the way, how do you know that the Flu shot is the only vaccine that still contains thimerosal? Do yourself a favor and look at this website since I did not find it on your list from the CDC. http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/downloads/appendices/B/excipient-table-2.pdf
Please look at the fine print at the bottom of this CDC Document!!! It reads:
“*Where “thimerosal” is marked with an asterisk (*) it indicates that the product should be considered equivalent to thimerosal-free products. This vaccine may contain trace amounts (<3 mcg) of mercury left after post-production thimerosal removal, but these amounts have no biological effect. JAMA 1999;282(18) and JAMA 2000;283(16
That’s right! About 6 other childhood vaccines still contain traces of thimerosal even when they specifically said that there is no longer thimerosal in the vaccines. How sure are we that even trace amounts of thimerosal are safe? Have you ever heard of someone by the name of Hannah Poling? If you have not then I suggest you look it up because it is one of the first ever court ruled cases to have found childhood vaccines in causation to Autism. You can take that to the straw man and feed him to the Chupacabra! I sincerely apologize for being rude but you came off like you had been studying Autism for years but instead we figured out that you know just as much as Mr. Mike Savage.
Anyways, I wish you luck and if you need some more quotes or more baseless studies then call Amanda Peete and Paul Offit.
September 2nd, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Wow - it’s amazing how much the government tries to cover this up - there is still mercury in the vaccines!
September 2nd, 2008 at 3:59 pm
Anyone who gives their child a vaccine without researching the risks is just insane. Autism is not the only concern for vaccine damage. Check out http://www.medalerts.org/ to see a huge database of vaccine reactions.
September 2nd, 2008 at 4:12 pm
I don’t believe in vaccines for ailments as common as the flu. I have never had a flu vaccine and I haven’t had so much as a cold in years. The last vaccine I did have was for pneumonia– a shot that I didn’t really need, but my doctor suggested it. About six weeks after that I ended up in the emergency room with numbness, vertigo and equilibrium disturbances. I was diagnosed with MS shortly after that.
I’m not saying the vaccine caused my MS, but I’m sure it exacerbated the MS which I didn’t know I already had. I haven’t had a vaccine since then and I wouldn’t be surprised if they were full of various chemicals that the drug companies dump into them to churn them out faster for the naiver consumer.
September 4th, 2008 at 2:47 am
Stay tuned….this diatribe from this “skepacabra” ? individual deserves a response that only a video will do justice. This individual is so misguided, that he(she) must be suffering from neurodenudation secondary to mercury toxicity themselves!
September 4th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
[...] week or so ago, we referenced a blog post by Ms. Marcella Piper-Terry on her blog entitled “Thimerosal in Flu Vaccine? YES” and [...]
September 4th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
And I have posted Dr. Buttar’s Video Response to “Skepacabra” in this post: http://www.drbuttar.com/blog/2008/09/dr-buttar-speak-thimerosal-in-flu-vaccine-yes-video-response/
September 4th, 2008 at 11:07 pm
[...] this entry about the anti-vaccine claims of one Dr. Rashid Buttars, quoting my response comment to his blog. Well not only has he responded to me on his blog but he’s done so in a 5-part, presumably [...]
September 5th, 2008 at 1:17 am
Very useful information, i would like to the government should allocate more funds on this research. This is really helpful to people. I hope this vaccine will cure flu fever and could help poor people to get this one.
September 5th, 2008 at 7:07 pm
Actually there’s no thimerosal in new produced
vaccine since 2001. They haven’t recalled the ones
in stock, because studys have shown no correlation
between thimerosal in small doses and authism.
September 7th, 2008 at 10:47 am
I agree vaccines have been safe from thimerosal the better part of this decade. However, every effort should be made the the existing stock should be purged of this dangerous problem.
September 7th, 2008 at 5:26 pm
Thank you for helping people be more aware of potential threats to our children .From the time that we are young we are taught to put our complete trust in doctors ,maybethat is mot such a good thing . Everybody should do the research and ask questions before we injesct a vaccine into our children ,Thank you again for raising awareness about this .
September 9th, 2008 at 4:33 am
I must admit that I have never heard anyone speaking about Thimerosal before reading this article. After a bit of research on the Internet, I got to learn more about Thimerosal and the Flu Vaccine at children.
Of course, in the current context, the reply of the the said child’s grandmother should be considered as irrelevant because she is not a qualified medical professionist nor does she work in the health industry. She is just a regular person, a bit pedantic, considering that hers is not an advised reply.
Nonetheless, I do appreciate Dr. Rashid Buttar’s interest on the Flu Vaccine and Thimerosal matter and will continue reading this blog in order to find out more about Thimerosal.
So “thank you” for your effort and for continuously providing us with useful information, Doctor!
September 9th, 2008 at 8:54 am
I have had the same issues with my dr about vaccines although not the flu ones simply because I don’t even do flu vaccines. I asked my dr what was in he vaccine and he didn’t know. I mean he simply didn’t know what was in them. Not at all!! How can you not know what you want to inject in my child.
September 9th, 2008 at 11:06 am
I think it is important to do as much research as possible about what you do for your child. That being said, I think it is also important to find a doctor that you can trust, and then trust her to look out for the health of your child.
September 9th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
This is Very useful information, this can help many people and make their life much better, DR. Rashid Buttar did a good job so far.
September 10th, 2008 at 3:22 am
I think we should be sure what we give to our kids. We should be sure that the drugs we give to the kids are fully harmless. Kids are the future citizens of the country. I do hope this vaccine is good with out any side effects.
September 10th, 2008 at 11:05 pm
This was very interesting…I never heard of thimerosal before. I have known people with autism, and this is scary. However, I do appreciate the fact that this article encourages parents to BE parents and investigate issues!
September 11th, 2008 at 12:35 am
Vaccinations for children scare me. My son got a flu shot a few years ago and ended up in the hospital, barely able to breathe. It ended up being an allergy to something in the shot, but since then I don’t allow my child to have any type or form of medication without discussing everything about it thoroughly with his pediatricion, whom I trust implicitly.
September 11th, 2008 at 8:39 am
Vaccines are necessary to prevent diseases. But you can never be careless when it is the matter of your kids. Children should be given vaccines only checking the need and the benefit the particular vaccine would give. If a vaccine causes undue harm to children then there is no point in vaccinating them.
September 11th, 2008 at 9:46 am
Very interesting blog. It will me make me think twice about getting the flu vaccine for my three girls even though they had the flu twice last year. I have always opted out of the vaccine. I have a question for the doctor, do you vaccinate your family?
October 22nd, 2008 at 11:52 am
HOLD OFF on the recommendation of the Flu Vaccine for Everyone
Flu vaccine manufactures inserts state other wise double check the facts and your recommendation
A response to the New York Times Editorial on October 22, 2008
by Heather L. Maurer
Did you do your research? In your editorial on October 22, 2008, Flu Vaccines for Preschoolers, you state that New Jersey is right on track with mandatory flu vaccines for all preschoolers.
Let me give you some facts about the flu vaccine according to six flu vaccine’s manufactures inserts that I have researched. You state “the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend that children from the ages of 6 months through 18 years be vaccinated annually against the flu.” However, have you read the warnings and use in specific populations section of the flu manufactures inserts?
The FDA’s website (www.fda.gov/CBER/flu/Flu2008.htm) release information about the 2008/2009 Season Lot release Status as of October 14, 2008 and that these vaccines are available for distribution. The specific flu vaccines they list (by trade name) are, Afluria, Fluarix, Flulaval, FluMist, Fluvirin and Fluzone.
FluMist which is commonly used for children because of its ease in administering warns, “Do not administer FluMist to children less than 24 months of age because of increased risk of hospitalization and wheezing observed in clinical trials. FluMist should not be administered to any individuals with asthma or children greater than five years of age with recurrent wheezing because of the potential for increased risk of wheezing post vaccination.”
Fluarix manufactures insert states, “is not indicated for use in children; should not be administered to anyone with known systemic hypersensitivity reactions to egg proteins, (eggs or egg products), to children proteins, or to anyone component of Fluarix or who has had a life-threatening reaction to previous administration of any influenza vaccine.” Are parents asking which vaccine their kids are getting? Do they know not to receive this one?
In addition, did you know that by receiving the flu vaccine you are placing yourself at risk for getting the autoimmune disease Guillain-Barre Syndrome, which causes among many systems, paralysis? Fluarix, states under the Warnings and Precautions, “If Guillain-Barre syndrome has occurred within six weeks of receipt of a prior influenza vaccine, the decision to give (specific vaccine name) should be based on careful consideration of the potential benefits and risks. Immunocompromised compromised persons may have a reduced immune response to (specific flu vaccine name.)” What about all of those people who have autoimmune diseases including diabetes, MS, Barr Epstein, and Lupus to name a few, are they at an increased risk for negative symptoms and side effects?
You state in your editorial, “The vaccines are deemed safe and effective by federal health authorities. For parents who are still worried about thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative, there are flu vaccines that do not contain it.” Why don’t you help us out here and find out which ones don’t contain mercury and list them? Did you know that of the listed flu vaccines on the FDA’s website that are released into the population five of the six contain thimerosal including, Fluarix, Afluria, Fluzone, Flulaval, and Fluvirin. FluMist is the only one that doesn’t however it is not recommended for children under two years of age.
And yet the Public Health Service, FDA, NIH, CDC and HRSA issued the following statement, “As a precautionary measure, the Public Health Service (including the FDA, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the American Academy of Pediatrics issued two Joint Statements, urging vaccine manufacturers to reduce or eliminate thimerosal in vaccines as soon as possible (CDC 1999) and (CDC 2000).” So why are these manufactures still using thimerosal, the mercury based preservative, in vaccines?
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 pregnant women and children as well as the general population.”
Further more, Fluarix, Fluzone, Flulaval, FluMist, Fluarix and Afluria all have under the “Use in Specific Populations section” that the safety of these vaccines have not been established for pregnant women, and nursing mothers. “Animal reproduction studies have not been conducted with Fluarix. It is not known whether Fluarix can case fetal harm when administered to pregnant women or can affect reproduction capacity. Fluarix should be given to pregnant women only if clearly needed,” according to the manufactures insert.
And yet the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AGOG) recommend in early October 2008 that women, including those who are pregnant, get their annual influenza vaccine. Why any woman caring a child would put themselves at risk to receive this specific vaccine when the manufacture states they are not sure if it is safe! Is there a specific flu vaccine that is safe and the studies prove its safety? If so, they why are they not stating the trade name of this “safe” vaccine and let pregnant women know specifically which one to receive if they choose to do so.
Also, last year, it was reported that the flu vaccine was only 40% effective in those who received it. The odds weren’t exactly in the favor of those who received it. If the manufactures miss again, and choice the wrong strands of the flu virus, then it appears to me all we have done is put a boat load of money, again, into the pockets of one of the most lucrative industries out there, the pharmaceutical industry! And at what cost to our children, ourselves and our immune systems?