Parenting & kids - SafeMindsflu.org

www.SafeMindsflu.org

What You Need to Know
In March of 2001, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) issued a statement
warning pregnant women and young children not to eat fish containing high
levels of mercury because it causes neurological problems in children.

Yet, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now recommends
that these same women and young children should get seasonal influenza
vaccines. Many seasonal influenza vaccines contain mercury, from the
preservative thimerosal, in amounts exceeding the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) recommended safe levels.

SafeMinds is deeply concerned that the risks of mercury - containing
seasonal influenza vaccines outweigh the benefits for pregnant women,
infants and children. Mercury is known to be highly toxic to brain tissue
and can interrupt critical stages of brain development.

A large-scale scientific study in approximately 50,000 pregnant women and
their infants over five flu seasons found no difference in the risk for
developing influenza illness among those who received the influenza vaccine
during pregnancy and those who did not receive the vaccine. Reviews in the
medical journal The Lancet found
a lack of health benefit of influenza vaccine for children under two and
significantly increased rates of vaccine-related adverse events in children.

If You Are Pregnant or Have Small Children . . .
a.. Look at the evidence and decide if you consider the influenza virus a
true threat to your family. Also consider the evidence regarding, the
effectiveness of the flu vaccine in actually preventing influenza.
b.. If you do decide to vaccinate, insist on mercury-free influenza
vaccines for yourself and your children.
c.. Do not combine the flu vaccine with other vaccines.
d.. Do not let yourself be pressured into receiving a vaccine that you don't
want; insist that your doctor or pharmacist find you a mercury-free vaccine.

Get All the Facts
All vaccines pose some risk, with or without mercury content. However, the
influenza vaccine is of great concern, as many brands contain high levels of
mercury. SafeMinds recommends that consumers read package inserts for any
vaccine prior to immunization.

According to flu vaccine package inserts, "Safety and effectiveness has not
been established in pregnant women or nursing mothers and should only be
given
to a pregnant woman if clearly needed."

In children under the age of two, the efficacy of inactivated (injected) flu
vaccine was similar to placebo. Nasal spray vaccines that contain live flu
virus are more effective in children than injectable inactivated flu
vaccines. An investigation into the effectiveness of the flu vaccine which
examined 274 studies of influenza vaccines and 28 epidemiological studies
from 1966 to 2007 with over 3,000,000 participants found that for every 100
people, 7 will develop flu like illness but only 1 will actually have the
flu. Simple techniques, such as avoiding those with flu-like illnesses and
good hand washing can prevent many cases of the flu.