thimerosal in vaccines?

bridgeybride

So, I'm a teacher who already had an H1N1 scare at my school this year.. stayed home a week to avoid it.. which used up my sick days... which I'm trying to save at this point....

Someone emailed about a local county clinic for pregnant women to get the vaccine tonight, free of cost... however.. it is the thimerosal vaccine.. it says how the CDC says they're safe for pregnant women and fetuses.

Just last night I asked my OB if I could find vaccine elsewhere if I should get it... (since their order isn't in yet) and he told me "just don't get anything with mercury in it.."... (thimerosal=mercury).. This coming from my pretty old school doc who didn't really care what foods I ate (didn't care about soft cheeses, etc.) , but for HIM to tell me not to get a shot with thimerosal in it makes me really not want to get it.

What does everyone else's docs say re: thimerosal vaccines? 

Mandy613

My doctor said that the thimerasol currently used in vaccines is fairly insignificant on the ingredient list, and the mercury level is safer for you than the potential bacteria that can develop in preservative-free vaccines.

Smootchy

I was told not a big deal... The shot has less mercury in it then a can of tuna...

daisydana

I really tried to get mine without it. It is/was a major concern to me. Especially since thimerosal is in all three shots I needed - H1N1, seasonal flu, and my Rhogam shot (being RH-). I could not find a mercury free shot anywhere. I decided to go ahead and get it anyway. It IS a very trace amount, although everyone has different opinions.

If your OB is getting it in soon, maybe you could wait?

 

 

epphd

Thimerosal has not been linked to any adverse effects when included in vaccines.  It is out of an abundance of caution/fear/mythology that it has been demonized.  The levels present in vaccines are vanishingly small, and unlike the mercury in fish (methylmercury), thimerosal (ethylmercury) does not bioaccumulate (build up in your body).  Rather, it is excreted.

I was apprehensive about getting the vax but thimerosal was not the reason.

ETA: My doc was unconcerned about thimerosal.

Mereou12

Mine says get what you can get--and since the vaccine is still completely unavailable in my area, I'm jumping on the first one I find, thimerosal or not. The amount of mercury in the vaccine is practically insignificant.

ibis

daisydana:

I really tried to get mine without it. It is/was a major concern to me. Especially since thimerosal is in all three shots I needed - H1N1, seasonal flu, and my Rhogam shot (being RH-). I could not find a mercury free shot anywhere. I decided to go ahead and get it anyway. It IS a very trace amount, although everyone has different opinions.

If your OB is getting it in soon, maybe you could wait?

 

 

It shouldn't be in the Rhogam shot anymore. It used to be.

My OB goes with the CDC on thimerosal, but I don't want to take it. 

aggielauren

Mine had the thimerosal free one, but he told me if he hadn't had any, he would have recommended I get any one I could get - even if it had thimerosal - because there has been no scientific link between thimerosal and any problems.

greycoral

chapski:

I was told not a big deal... The shot has less mercury in it then a can of tuna...

this is what mine said too.

nealbl

In MO they just lifted the rule that physician's must give preg women a thermisol free shot because they are so low on shots. I got a thermisol free one but asked the lady giving it to me and she said there is such a small amount that it shouldn't matter, but better to be safe than sorry.

Alyssajoy87

The link between autism and thimerosal has been pretty well disproven. Still, that being said, if I could get a vaccine without it, I would prefer that, given the choice. I, however, was not given that choice and the only vaccines (seasonal flu and H1N1) I could find were with thimerosal.

LO and I have now been exposed to the thimerosal in both vaccines and we're both completely fine. To me, the risk of waiting to see if I could find a vaccine without the thimerosal and possibly getting sick in the meantime, was greater than the risk of the thimerosal. Personal choice.

Jerseygirl16

Mine said it was better to get the shot with thermisol if that is all that is available than it is to risk the flu.  I got it last Tuesday.