Vaccines and Thimerosal
Thimerosal is a compound that contains a form of mercury called ethyl-mercury. It has been added to multi-dose vaccine vials (vials that contain multiple vaccine doses) since the 1930’s to prevent contamination each time a new needle enters the vial. The kind of mercury contained in thimerosal, ethyl-mercury, is different from the industrial pollutant most of us are familiar with, methyl-mercury. Though the names sound similar, these two forms of mercury are very different in terms of what happens when they enter the body. Methyl-mercury, the pollutant, accumulates in our bodies and is known to be harmful to the developing brains of fetuses and young children (though it does not cause autism, even at high doses). Ethyl-mercury, from thimerosal, quickly leaves the body and does not accumulate. Well performed scientific studies have found no increased risk from prenatal or early life exposure to thimerosal in vaccines, including autism. Back in 1997, in an effort to remove mercury from our environment, mercury was taken out of all sorts of products that contained any form of mercury. This included the thimerosal in vaccines. Even though thimerosal was never a danger, it is now found only in some multi-dose vials of the influenza vaccine. Since the removal of thimerosal from vaccines, the rate of autism diagnoses has not gone down. In fact it has continued to rise as we have broadened our definition of autism, and as we continue to identify more and more children on the autism spectrum.

Vaccines and Aluminum
Aluminum is the third most common element on earth. It is found in many products and foods to which we are often exposed:

• Foods and beverages (including baby formulas)
• Food-related products
• The manufacturing of many products
• Health products including antacids, aspirin, antiperspirants

A very small amount of aluminum is also added to some vaccines as an adjuvant. An adjuvant is a substance that, when added to a vaccine, attracts your immune system to the vaccine. It makes the body respond to a small amount of the vaccine. Without adjuvants, much more vaccine would need to be given to produce the same response. Some vaccines require an adjuvant in order to be effective. Infants receive only a small amount of aluminum from vaccines compared to the amount they receive from other sources. The very small amount of aluminum in vaccines is not a health risk.

Vaccines and Formaldehyde
Vaccines contain very small amounts of formaldehyde as part of the manufacturing process. Formaldehyde is a natural substance produced by our bodies. The amount of formaldehyde contained in all the vaccines an infant receives, combined, is tiny in comparison to the amount that exists naturally in its body. Infants are exposed to many other, more significant sources of formaldehyde all the time. The amount of formaldehyde infants receive from vaccines is very small and poses no health risks.

Vaccines and Aborted Fetuses
A cell line is a population of cells, grown from a single tissue cell, that are capable of indefinite growth in a laboratory setting. Cell lines are an extremely important tool in health research and vaccine production. Vaccine pathogens like viruses are grown in cell lines to weaken them, making them incapable of causing disease. Vaccines made with the help of cell lines do not contain the actual cells in which they are grown, or their DNA. A few vaccines are produced using a cell line, called WI-38, which was started from lung cells taken from an aborted fetus back in 1962. Vaccines made from this cell line do not contain fetal cells or DNA.

Do Vaccines Contain Antifreeze?
No! Vaccines DO NOT contain antifreeze. Antifreeze is usually made of ethylene glycol, which is toxic and unsafe. Some vaccines contain trace amounts of a different substance with a similar-sounding name, polyethylene glycol (PEG). Polyethylene glycol and ethylene glycol may sound similar, but they are not the same. PEG is a very different substance — it is non-toxic and used in medications, cosmetics, and foods. It is used to inactivate the influenza virus in some influenza vaccines. It is also used to purify other vaccines. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) in vaccines is considered safe and poses no health risks.