Pregnant women and children should avoid vaccines containing trace amounts of
mercury, a US panel of experts has warned. They say it is 鈥渂iologically
plausible鈥� that thimerosol, a mercury-based preservative in the vaccines, could
cause developmental disorders.
While the US began to phase out mercury in childhood vaccines two years ago,
it has not forced hospitals to replace their existing stocks. The preservative
is still used in the flu vaccine and some eye drops and nasal sprays, says the
Institute of Medicine, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences.