Resources

• Additives in vaccines : fact sheet.
  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2007
  Provides information about chemical compounds used in vaccines to inactivate (kill) a virus or bacteria or stabilize it, helping to preserve the vaccine and keep it effective and sterile.
• Addressing parents’ concerns : do vaccines contain harmful preservatives, adjuvants, additives, or residuals?
  Offit Paul A., Jew Rita K.
  - Pediatrics 2003;112(6):1394-7.
  American Academy of Pediatrics
  » PubMed: 14654615
  Reviews data on thimerosal, aluminum, gelatin, human serum albumin, formaldehyde, antibiotics, egg proteins, and yeast proteins.
• An assessment of thimerosal use in childhood vaccines.
  Ball Leslie K., Ball Robert, Pratt R. Douglas.
  - Pediatrics 2001;107(5):1147-54.
  American Academy of Pediatrics
  » PubMed: 11331700
  Describes a risk assessment of thimerosal, which consisted of hazard identification, dose-response assessment, exposure assessment, and risk characterization.
• Autism and thimerosal-containing vaccines: lack of consistent evidence for an association. (PDF: 167k)
  Stehr-Green Paul, Tull Peet, Stellfeld Michael, Mortenson Preben-Bo, Simpson Diane.
  - American Journal of Preventative Medicine 2003;25(2):101-6.
  Elsevier
  » PubMed: 12880876
  Compared the prevalence/incidence of autism in California, Sweden, and Denmark with average exposures to thimerosal-containing vaccines.
• Early thimerosal exposure and neuropsychological outcomes at 7 to 10 years. (PDF: 160k)
  Thompson W.W., Price C., Goodson B., Shay D.K., Benson P., Hinrichsen V.L., Lewis E., Eriksen E., Ray P., Marcy S.M., Dunn J., Jackson L.A., Lieu T.A., Black S., Stewart G., Weintraub E.S., Davis R.L., DeStefano F. / Vaccine Safety Datalink Team.
  - New England Journal of Medicine 2007;357(13):1281-92.
  Massachusetts Medical Society
  » PubMed: 17898097
  Explores whether early exposure to thimerosal, a mercury-containing preservative used in vaccines and immune globulin preparations, is associated with neuropsychological deficits in children.
• Exposure to thimerosal in vaccines used in Canadian infant immunization Programs, with respect to risk of neurodevelopmental disorders. (PDF: 150k)
  Bigham M., Bigham M., Copes R., Copes R., Srour L., Srour L.
  - Canada Communicable Disease Report 2002;28(9):69-80.
  Public Health Agency of Canada
  » PubMed: 12012653
  Examines the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism, in Canadian children as a result of mercury exposure from thimerosal-containing vaccines routinely used in some provincial/territorial universal infant and early childhood immunization programs
• GlaxoSmithKline.
  GlaxoSmithKline
  Describes the vaccine work of GlaxoSmithKline. Member of the Canadian Coalition for Immunization Awareness & Promotion (CCIAP).
• Immunization safety review : thimerosal containing vaccines and neurodevelopmental disorders.
  Stratton Kathleen, Gable Alicia, McCormick Marie C. / Immunization Safety Review Committee, Institute of Medicine
  National Academies Press; 2001
  Examines the hypothesis of whether or not the use of vaccines containing the preservative thimerosal can cause neurodevelopmental disorders, particularly autism, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and speech or language delay.
• Immunization science: mercury in vaccines.
  National Network for Immunization Information
  Provides synopses of articles from the scientific, peer-reviewed literature related to vaccines and immunization. Offers summaries of articles on mercury in vaccines.
• Immunization: Get the facts. (PDF: 389k)
  CCIAP .
  Canadian Coalition for Immunization Awareness & Promotion; 2010
  This pamphlet provides information and answers four common questions and misconceptions about vaccine safety, vaccine contents, and multiple injections.
• Merck Frosst.
  Merck Frosst
  Offers information about one of Canada’s leading research-based pharmaceutical companies. Member of the Canadian Coalition for Immunization Awareness & Promotion (CCIAP).
• Mercury and vaccines (thimerosal) (US CDC).
  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  Provides links to information about thimerosal.
• Mercury concentrations and metabolism in infants receiving vaccines containing thiomersal: a descriptive study. (PDF: 551k)
  Pichichero Michael E., Cernichiari Elsa, Lopreiato Joseph, Treanor John.
  - Lancet 2002;360(9347):1737-41.
  Elsevier
  » PubMed: 12480426
  Describes a study which measured concentrations of mercury in blood, urine, and stools of infants who received vaccines containing thiomersal. Reprinted with permission from Elsevier Science
• NIAID-supported studies on mercury, thimerosal, and vaccine safety.
  National Institutes of Health, National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; 2007
  Discusses thimerosal research that focuses on understanding what happens to thimerosal once it is introduced in the body and how this compares to current knowledge of methyl mercury pathways.
• Sanofi pasteur: range of vaccines.
  Sanofi pasteur
  Describes the range of vaccines provided by Sanofi pasteur. Member of the Canadian Coalition for Immunization Awareness & Promotion (CCIAP).
• Solvay: influenza vaccines.
  Solvay
  Describes the role Solvay Pharmaceuticals plays in the control of influenza. Member of the Canadian Coalition for Immunization Awareness & Promotion (CCIAP).
• Thimerosal and the occurrence of autism: negative ecological evidence from Danish population-based data.
  Plesner Anne-Marie, Andersen Peter H., Mortensen Preben B., Madsen Kreesten, Lauritsen Marlene, Pedersen Carsten B., Thorsen Poul.
  - Pediatrics 2003;112:604-6.
  American Academy of Pediatrics
  » PubMed: 12949291
  Examines whether discontinuing the use of thimerosal-containing vaccines in Denmark led to a decrease in the incidence of autism.
• Thimerosal exposure in infants and developmental disorders: a prospective cohort study in the United Kingdom does not support a causal association.
  Andrews Nick, Miller Elizabeth, Grant Julia, Osborne Velda, Taylor Brent.
  - Pediatrics 2004;114(3):577-83.
  American Academy of Pediatrics
  » PubMed: 15342824
  Describes research that tested a large United Kingdom population-based cohort to find out whether there is any evidence to justify concerns that exposure to mercury damages young children.
• Thimerosal in vaccines (US IAC).
  Immunization Action Coalition
  Provides links to answer questions about thimerosal in vaccines.
• Thimerosal in vaccines and autism (PHAC).
  Public Health Agency of Canada
  Answers common questions about thimerosal.
• Thimerosal information (US IAC).
  Immunization Action Coalition
  Provides links to resources for parents and providers. Provides links to journal articles about thimerosal safety.
• Timeline: flu vaccine development (CTV).
  Mulholland Angela.
  CTV Television Network; 2004
  Discusses how flu vaccines are reformulated and developed each year.
• Wyeth Canada.
  Wyeth Canada
  Describes Wyeth Canada, a world leader in the research and development of innovative, high-quality health care products. Member of the Canadian Coalition for Immunization Awareness & Promotion (CCIAP).