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Tuna vs. Flu Shot
Note the highlighted paragraphs.
Posted on Thu, Jan. 20, 2005 http://www.sunherald.com/mld/thesunh...g/10686293.htm Mercury in flu shot no danger Q: With restrictions lifted on who can get a flu shot, and the possibility of flu outbreaks in February, I'm thinking of getting the shot. My concern is that the only available flu vaccine contains a high amount of mercury, as you recently wrote. Is the risk worth it? A: Mercury is present in thimerosal, a preservative used to inhibit germ growth in flu vaccines. Mercury is toxic at excessive levels. Chiron, one of two companies providing flu vaccine to the United States, was shut down due to manufacturing problems, an event that led to this season's widely publicized vaccine shortage. As I pointed out before, Chiron is the only manufacturer that offered an adult dose of flu vaccine containing just a trace amount of mercury (1 mcg). The currently available flu shot (from Aventis Pasteur) comes in a pediatric dose containing a trace amount of mercury (0.5 mcg) and an adult dose containing a higher (standard) amount of mercury (25 mcg). The offshoot is that pregnant women and others (including children over age 3) who get an adult dose of the flu shot do not have a trace-mercury option this season. However, this isn't meant to imply that the standard-mercury adult dose might be unsafe. **************************** One way to gain perspective is to compare the amount of mercury in the flu shot with the amount found naturally in tuna fish. Hang with me for a little math. According to the EPA, light tuna, considered to be low in mercury, contains an average of .12 PPM (parts per million) of mercury (www.cfsan.fda.gov/~frf/sea-mehg.html). That works out to 0.12 mcg of mercury per gram of tuna. A typical 6-oz (170 grams) can of light tuna would thus contain 20.4 mcg of mercury, on average. That's very close to the 25 mcg of mercury contained in the adult dose of the flu shot. The essential concern with mercury is its accumulation in the body over time. ****************************************** EPA/FDA guidelines say it's OK for those at highest risk to consume up to 12 ounces weekly of light tuna. This includes women who may become pregnant, pregnant women, nursing mothers, and young children. Eating only one 6-oz can of light tuna a week (with an average mercury content of 20.4 mcg) would expose you to over 1,000 mcg of mercury a year. That's 40 times more mercury per year than you'd get from an annual flu shot. ******************************** Also, the form of mercury in flu vaccine (ethyl mercury) is deemed less likely to cause harm than that present in seafood (methyl mercury). ********************************* For exceptional cases, a workaround might be to administer two shots of the pediatric dose. That's equivalent to one adult dose, but with only a trace amount of mercury (1 mcg). The bottom line: For most people, the risks and miseries of getting the flu far outweigh any risks that might be associated with mercury in the flu vaccine. |
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I have always been annoyed by the "a vaccine has as much mercury as a can of tuna" comment, and finally decided to do some research. I put the following together, which you can feel free to use with whomever you want. Cheers, JB Myth:The mercury received in a vaccine is no greater than in a can of tuna. Eating a can of tuna has certainly never caused autism. This myth has received a lot of publicity because it offers an analogy anyone can understand and makes the mercury-autism connection appear trivial. The analogy can be improved by comparing a 200-pound male adult consuming tuna with the infant who receives a single vaccine on their first day of birth (since day-old infants don't eat tuna). On the first day of birth an infant receives the Hep B vaccine with about 25 micrograms of ethlymercury – this does approximate the 30 micrograms of methlymercury in an average can of tuna. Since the average infant weighs about 7 pounds, the weight equivalent number of cans of tuna for an adult would be 28 cans. If you take those 28 cans of tuna and distill it down to mercury content, you would have 840 micrograms of mercury. Keep in mind that the stomach successfully absorbs and excretes about 90% of any mercury ingested through food, leaving only about 10% of the mercury for the bloodstream. Since the mercury in vaccines is injected directly into the bloodstream where 100% of it can be absorbed by the organs, you'd need an additional 252 cans of tuna to get the equivalent amount of mercury into the bloodstream for a total of 280 cans of tuna and 8,400 micrograms of methlymercury. So, receiving the Hep B vaccine on the first day of birth is the equivalent of a 200-pound adult male consuming 280 cans of tuna in a single day. One final adjustment: the adult male in the analogy needs to have no capacity to excrete mercury. As Boyd Haley, Ph.D. notes, "it is very well known that infants do not produce significant levels of bile or have adult renal capacity for several months after birth. Bilary transport is the major biochemical route by which mercury is removed from the body, and infants cannot do this very well." So, a 200-pound male who consumes 280 cans of tuna in a single day and has their ability to excrete mercury severely diminished is the same as a day-old infant receiving the Hep B vaccine. That's a fair analogy. Just because the FDA tells us that Mercury in the Flu vaccine is safe for pregnant women, Doesnt mean you have to believe it, How many died from Vioxx while the FDA looked the other way!! |
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I have always been annoyed by the "a vaccine has as much mercury as a can of tuna" comment, and finally decided to do some research. I put the following together, which you can feel free to use with whomever you want. Cheers, JB Myth:The mercury received in a vaccine is no greater than in a can of tuna. Eating a can of tuna has certainly never caused autism. This myth has received a lot of publicity because it offers an analogy anyone can understand and makes the mercury-autism connection appear trivial. The analogy can be improved by comparing a 200-pound male adult consuming tuna with the infant who receives a single vaccine on their first day of birth (since day-old infants don't eat tuna). On the first day of birth an infant receives the Hep B vaccine with about 25 micrograms of ethlymercury – this does approximate the 30 micrograms of methlymercury in an average can of tuna. Since the average infant weighs about 7 pounds, the weight equivalent number of cans of tuna for an adult would be 28 cans. If you take those 28 cans of tuna and distill it down to mercury content, you would have 840 micrograms of mercury. Keep in mind that the stomach successfully absorbs and excretes about 90% of any mercury ingested through food, leaving only about 10% of the mercury for the bloodstream. Since the mercury in vaccines is injected directly into the bloodstream where 100% of it can be absorbed by the organs, you'd need an additional 252 cans of tuna to get the equivalent amount of mercury into the bloodstream for a total of 280 cans of tuna and 8,400 micrograms of methlymercury. So, receiving the Hep B vaccine on the first day of birth is the equivalent of a 200-pound adult male consuming 280 cans of tuna in a single day. One final adjustment: the adult male in the analogy needs to have no capacity to excrete mercury. As Boyd Haley, Ph.D. notes, "it is very well known that infants do not produce significant levels of bile or have adult renal capacity for several months after birth. Bilary transport is the major biochemical route by which mercury is removed from the body, and infants cannot do this very well." So, a 200-pound male who consumes 280 cans of tuna in a single day and has their ability to excrete mercury severely diminished is the same as a day-old infant receiving the Hep B vaccine. That's a fair analogy. Just because the FDA tells us that Mercury in the Flu vaccine is safe for pregnant women, Doesnt mean you have to believe it, How many died from Vioxx while the FDA looked the other way!! |
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On Fri, 21 Jan 2005 22:28:44 -0500, "Kevysmom"
wrote: I have always been annoyed by the "a vaccine has as much mercury as a can of tuna" comment, and finally decided to do some research. I put the following together, which you can feel free to use with whomever you want. Cheers, JB I only see this text as quoted by "Kevysmom" but I'll reply nonetheless. Myth:The mercury received in a vaccine is no greater than in a can of tuna. Eating a can of tuna has certainly never caused autism. This myth has received a lot of publicity because it offers an analogy anyone can understand and makes the mercury-autism connection appear trivial. And it is true. The analogy can be improved by comparing a 200-pound male adult consuming tuna with the infant who receives a single vaccine on their first day of birth (since day-old infants don't eat tuna). Your analogy is flawed, as you, like most know-nothing anti-vacs, blind to your own ignorance, know little about physiology. Read on. On the first day of birth an infant receives the Hep B vaccine with about 25 micrograms of ethlymercury – this does approximate the 30 micrograms of methlymercury in an average can of tuna. Since the average infant weighs about 7 pounds, the weight equivalent number of cans of tuna for an adult would be 28 cans. Wrong. Weight is an imperfect substitute for true physiologic scaling, which is more closely related to body surface area than weight. Use of weight as a surrogate is only valid for small infants, and tends to lead to over-estimates of effect in larger individuals. Why do you think we dose medications upwards by weight but stop once we reach the "adult dose"? If we dose amoxicillin at 80 mg/kg/d for an infant, do we give 6,700 mg/d to a 185-lb. adult? If you take those 28 cans of tuna and distill it down to mercury content, you would have 840 micrograms of mercury. Keep in mind that the stomach successfully absorbs and excretes about 90% of any mercury ingested through food, leaving only about 10% of the mercury for the bloodstream. Huh? The stomach "absorbs and excretes" mercury? What in the world are you talking about? Do you know ANYTHING about physiology? Since the mercury in vaccines is injected directly into the bloodstream where 100% of it can be absorbed by the organs, you'd need an additional 252 cans of tuna to get the equivalent amount of mercury into the bloodstream for a total of 280 cans of tuna and 8,400 micrograms of methlymercury. Another of the usual lies told by anti-vac dumb****s. Vaccines are never "injected directly into the bloodstream." So, receiving the Hep B vaccine on the first day of birth is the equivalent of a 200-pound adult male consuming 280 cans of tuna in a single day. One final adjustment: the adult male in the analogy needs to have no capacity to excrete mercury. How about this "final adjustment": Hepatitis B vaccine no longer contains mercury. As Boyd Haley, Ph.D. notes, "it is very well known that infants do not produce significant levels of bile or have adult renal capacity for several months after birth. Bilary transport is the major biochemical route by which mercury is removed from the body, and infants cannot do this very well." So, a 200-pound male who consumes 280 cans of tuna in a single day and has their ability to excrete mercury severely diminished is the same as a day-old infant receiving the Hep B vaccine. That's a fair analogy. Hardly. PF |
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When you compare "mercury" in fish to "mercury" in vaccines, you are
comparing apples and oranges. The chemicals can be very different. It is like comparing nitrogen in cyanide and nitrogen in protein. The compound that contains mercury in vaccines is rapidly excreted by the body, and, in the quantities used, has never been shown to be dangerous. Other mercury compounds, like methylmercury, which is found in fish, are much more toxic. Jeff |
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PF Riley wrote:
On the first day of birth an infant receives the Hep B vaccine with about 25 micrograms of ethlymercury - this does approximate the 30 micrograms of methlymercury in an average can of tuna. Since the average infant weighs about 7 pounds, the weight equivalent number of cans of tuna for an adult would be 28 cans. Wrong. Weight is an imperfect substitute for true physiologic scaling, which is more closely related to body surface area than weight. Use of weight as a surrogate is only valid for small infants, and tends to lead to over-estimates of effect in larger individuals. Why do you think we dose medications upwards by weight but stop once we reach the "adult dose"? If we dose amoxicillin at 80 mg/kg/d for an infant, do we give 6,700 mg/d to a 185-lb. adult? Right. That is why when you look at the pediatric doses (mg/kg) they usually hit the adult dose at about 40 kg (88 lbs). Am infant requires 100cc per kg of fluid daily do a 3.5 kg (normal sized) infant requires about 350 cc per day. Scaling up to a 200lb man, as these morons like to do, would have the guy drinking 10 liters of water a day. If you take those 28 cans of tuna and distill it down to mercury content, you would have 840 micrograms of mercury. Keep in mind that the stomach successfully absorbs and excretes about 90% of any mercury ingested through food, leaving only about 10% of the mercury for the bloodstream. Huh? The stomach "absorbs and excretes" mercury? What in the world are you talking about? Do you know ANYTHING about physiology? I got a chuckle out of that myself. The stomach as an excretory organ. I wonder where he thinks it goes? It does provide a convenient excuse to multiply the numbers by 10. So, receiving the Hep B vaccine on the first day of birth is the equivalent of a 200-pound adult male consuming 280 cans of tuna in a single day. One final adjustment: the adult male in the analogy needs to have no capacity to excrete mercury. How about this "final adjustment": Hepatitis B vaccine no longer contains mercury. Well, you need to cut them some slack and let them use the tired old outdated arguments untilt hey can come up with new ones that fit the current facts. -- 00doc |
#7
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Effect of thimerosal, a preservative in vaccines, on intracellular Ca2+
concentration of rat cerebellar neurons. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...&dopt=Abstract Methyl-mercury, usually from contaminated food, is very dangerous to pregnant women. Methyl-mercury causes profound mental retardation, cerebral palsy, seizures, spasticity, tremors, and incoordination, along with eye and hearing damage in the unborn baby as a result of the mother's exposure. Organic mercury passes into the breast milk as well. The effect of thimerosal, an organomercurial preservative in vaccines, on cerebellar neurons dissociated from 2-week-old rats was compared with those of methylmercury using a flow cytometer with appropriate fluorescent dyes. Thimerosal and methylmercury at concentrations ranging from 0.3 to 10 microM increased the intracellular concentration of Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) in a concentration- dependent manner. The potency of 10 microM thimerosal to increase the [Ca2+]i was less than that of 10 microM methylmercury. Their effects on the [Ca2+]i were greatly attenuated, but not completely suppressed, under external Ca(2+)-free condition, suggesting a possibility that both agents increase membrane Ca2+ permeability and release Ca2+ from intracellular calcium stores. The effect of 10 microM thimerosal was not affected by simultaneous application of 30 microM L-cysteine whereas that of 10 microM methylmercury was significantly suppressed. The potency of thimerosal was similar to that of methylmercury in the presence of L-cysteine. Both agents at 1 microM or more similarly decreased the cellular content of glutathione in a concentration-dependent manner, suggesting an increase in oxidative stress. Results indicate that thimerosal exerts some cytotoxic actions on cerebellar granule neurons dissociated from 2-week-old rats and its potency is almost similar to that of methylmercury. |
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http://www.nccn.net/~wwithin/Geier011805thimerosal.pdf
X-Comment: AT&T Maillennium special handling code - c From: "Dr. Mark R. Geier"Dear Everyone, Please, find attached to this email a new study, "Neurodevelopmental Disorders Following Thimerosal-Containing Childhood Immunizations: A Follow-up Analysis" [saved as NeuroDevelopmental Disorders Following TCVs - A Follow-up Analysis.pdf in Adobe Acrobat Format] just published in the peer-reviewed scientific/medical International Journal of Toxicology (American College of Toxicology). The authors previously published the first epidemiological study from the United States associating thimerosal from childhood vaccines with neurodevelopmental disorders based upon assessment of the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) database. |
#9
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You are misleading in your comment about the amount of mercury that
was "injected" into pregnant women. Just for one injection of 35 mcg of mercury into a 132lb pregnant woman would be 5.8x over the EPA limit. The limit is 6mcg for a 132 lb woman and this is for "ingesting" mercury....The Rhogam contained 35 mcg of mercury. Add Aluminum that is also injected at the same time, This increases the effect of mercury and you land up with some very mercury poisoned children. The injection is NOT spread out over 30 days its all at once. |
#10
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Volume 26, Issue 1, January 2005, Pages 1-8
*Thimerosal Neurotoxicity is Associated with Glutathione Depletion: Protection with Glutathione Precursors * *S.J. James, William Slikker III, Stepan Melnyk, Elizabeth New, Marta Pogribna and Stefanie Jernigan * ^1 Department of Pediatrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and Arkansas Children's Hospital Research Institute, Little Rock, AR 72202, USA http://www.sciencedirect.com/science.../sdarticle.pdf |
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