Lawmakers Approve Mercury Measure; Substance Largely Banned From Children's Vaccines
Posted on: Friday, 10 March 2006, 18:00 CST
By KATHIE DURBIN , Columbian staff writer
OLYMPIA -- A bill banning more than trace amounts of mercury in vaccines given to pregnant women and young children cleared the Legislature Wednesday after it was reworked to change wording that had made it meaningless.
The measure passed the Senate 47-0 Wednesday after the House approved an amended version on Tuesday clarifying that it applies to all vaccines, whether or not they have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It now goes to Gov. Chris Gregoire's desk.
California and five other states already have similar laws on the books. Eleven more state legislatures are considering banning mercury-containing vaccines.
Sen. Marilyn Rasmussen, a former dairy farmer and the grandmother of an autistic boy, was elated at the bill's passage. Rasmussen, D- Eatonville, has worked for two sessions to win meaningful legislation on mercury in vaccines.
"We took mercury out of all veterinary medicines 30 years ago," she said. "We found that it was toxic to animals."
Backers of the bill cited the sharp increase in the incidence of diagnosed childhood autism and other neurological disorders in the 1990s, which coincided with an increase in the use of thimerosal in several childhood vaccines. Thimerosal, a preservative that has been in use in some vaccines since the 1930s, contains about 50 percent ethyl mercury.
Supporters noted that methyl mercury, a different form of mercury that is regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency, is known to damage young nervous systems at very low doses.
The language of the bill notes that no link has been proven between the use of thimerosal and health threats to children. But it says the measure is needed to maintain public confidence in the national vaccine program, because concern over the safety of vaccines may prompt some parents not to have their children vaccinated against deadly childhood diseases.
The bill's passage comes as a new peer-reviewed study of two government databases shows that the incidence of childhood autism declined significantly between 2002 and 2005. Thimerosal was removed from most childhood vaccines beginning in 1999. The study, conducted by Dr. Mark Geier and David Gier, was published March 1 in the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons.
Its passage also coincides with revelations that a major producer of a combined childhood vaccine, Smith Kline Beecham (now known as GlaxoSmithKline), wrote to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 1999 offering to begin providing a thimerosal-free vaccine for diptheria, tetanus and whooping cough immediately. But the CDC refused to accept the offer, allowing the mercury- containing vaccine to be administered to babies and young children for several additional months.
The offer came just weeks after the Public Health Service and the American Academic of Pediatrics asked vaccine manufacturers to voluntarily remove thimerosal from their products as a precaution. Advocates for autistic children have called for a Senate investigation of the CDC's actions.
Between 1989 and 1992, the amount of mercury in vaccines given to infants and young children in the United States nearly tripled as the number of scheduled childhood vaccines increased from eight to 20. By 1999, the preservative was being used in vaccines to protect children against diptheria, tetanus, whooping cough, bacterial meningitis and hepatitis B. After 1999, use of mercury-containing vaccines was phased out.
Today, only some flu vaccines administered to preschool children and some combination vaccines contain significant amounts of thimerosal.
The Washington law makes it illegal for a doctor to administer any mercury-containing vaccine to a pregnant woman or a child 3 years of age or younger after July 1, 2007, if it contains more than 0.5 micrograms of mercury per 0.5 milliliter dose. Mercury in flu vaccines will be limited to 1.0 microgram of mercury per 0.5 milliliter dose far less than the 25 micrograms of mercury per dose that most current vaccines contain.
The measure allows state health officials to suspend the ban in a public health emergency.
Source: Columbian
Related Articles
- In Children, H1N1 Influenza Vaccine Work Like Seasonal Flu Vaccine
- Economic Stimulus Bill Mandates Electronic Health Records for Every Citizen without Opt-out or Patient Consent Provisions
- Federal Advisory Committee Votes to Include Newly Licensed Pentacel(R) Vaccine in Vaccines for Children Program
- Singapore Urges Parents to Vaccinate Their Children againstMMR
- Nepali Gov't Provides Vaccines to Children to Reduce Child Mortality
- CDC's Advisory Committee Recommends Expanded Influenza Vaccinations for Children
- CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices Votes to Recommend Inclusion of ROTATEQ(R) in the Vaccines for Children (VFC) Program
- Bangladesh to Vaccinate 34.8 Mln Children Under Measles Vaccination Campaign
- Vaccine Against Children Diarrhea Wins FDA Approval
- Millions of Indian Children Administered Polio Vaccine
 |
 |
User Comments (0)
RSS Feeds