Flu Season

 

How many times have each of us been told to “wash your hands with soap”? It turns out that is pretty good advice. One of the key recommendations from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to prevent a flu pandemic this fall is to wash hands (and use alcohol-based cleansers) frequently. Another recommendation is to keep sick children (and adults) at home until their temperatures return to normal for at least 24 hours. Again, this sounds familiar! Of course, it is not easy to do for working families and for workers without sick leave or other benefits.

 

Another discordant note in the HHS and Centers for Disease Control recommendations relates to vaccines. For the past decade the US government and drug manufacturers have been removing Thimerosal (which is about 50% mercury) from pediatric vaccinations and vaccinations designed for pregnant women. We’ve also been advising pregnant women to avoid certain types of fish and we’ve been removing mercury from fever thermometers and industrial emissions.

 

However, amazingly, mercury is still being distributed in seasonal flu vaccines. 

 

This is the reason that United Methodist Women brought a resolution to General Conference (which was adopted--you can find it in the 2008 Book of Resolutions, number 3206) asking our government to prioritize Thimerosal-free vaccines for pregnant women, warn all persons about the dangers of Thimerosal and, ultimately, ban its use in vaccines.

 

Wouldn’t you think that the formulation of a new vaccine, and during the creation of an emergency distribution system would be a good time to take these measures for flu vaccines as well? It seems as if this would be absolutely imperative since the CDC has prioritized pregnant women and children over 6 months of age to receive vaccines. However, they have not even expressed a preference for Thimerosal-free vaccines for these vulnerable populations. This was hard for me to believe!

 

Based on the United Methodist Church’s stance on this matter, Women’s Division submitted an affidavit in support of legal action in which a 501(c)(3) organization called CoMeD is asking the Secretary of Health and Human Services to take this position. I went to Washington to explain why United Methodist Women have been so attentive to this matter and you can see what I said in the attached statement. I also stayed for the hearing and heard the judge say that while the plaintiff’s allegations were “troubling,” he remained unconvinced on several technical arguments that are necessary to grant “extraordinary relief” at this time.

 

There will be more motions, and I will not be jumping on the train to observe them all, but I wanted to share this much with you.

 

One of the reasons that the judge was questioning the need to ask the government to warn about the presence of Thimerosal in the vaccine and its dangers is that United Methodist Women can be alerted to the risks by their own organization (in other words, directing the government to act would not be needed). This line of reasoning made me sit up and take notice! Have we warned our members about these dangers and alerted them to ask for Thimerosal-free vaccines? Have we alerted our sons and daughters and members of our congregations and communities?

 

I was on a Conference Call with Secretary Kathleen Sebelius of the Department of Health and Human Services later that same day. Though I didn’t get a chance to ask her about our concerns over Thimerosal, I did hear her remind another grass-roots organization that although schools and day care centers may be “great partners” in vaccine distribution, minors under age 21 must have the consent of a parent or guardian in order to receive a vaccination. Please do not consent to vaccinations containing Thimerosal! Please alert the day care centers, schools and medical providers you know to these risks.

 

There is one more thing you can do. If a medical provider resists your request for the Thimerosal free version of the vaccine, please share your story. Contact CoMeD at www.mercury-freedrugs.org and look for a link to “Sample Declaration for Those Unable to Obtain Mercury-free Flu Shot.” Providing our coalition partner with descriptions of the experiences of real women and children, who are trying to protect themselves and their children in a vaccine distribution system that is not designed to take these concerns into account, would be a great support.

 

Read the statement I made to the Federal Courthouse calling for the removal of mercury in vaccines for children and pregnant women by HHS  here (PDF, 60K).

 

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