The unintended (but entirely predictable) consequences of the dangerous idiots of vaccine denial continue to spread.
A group of prominent doctors and public health experts warns in articles to be published today in the journal Pediatrics that banning thimerosal, a mercury compound used as a preservative in vaccines, would devastate public health efforts in developing countries.
Banning it would require switching to single-dose vials for vaccines, which would cost far more and require new networks of cold storage facilities and additional capacity for waste disposal, the authors of the articles said.
“The result would be millions of people, predominantly in low- and middle-income countries, with significantly restricted access to lifesaving vaccines for many years,” they wrote.
Fears of autism? Entirely bogus. The Gray Lady reports that “the evidence is overwhelming that thimerosal is not harmful …” And according to Louis Z. Cooper, former president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, “Science clearly documented that we can’t find hazards from thimerosal in vaccines. The preservative plays a critical role in distribution of vaccine to the global community.”
According to Dr. Heidi Larson, senior lecturer at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine “You can’t just pull the plug on something without having a plan for an alternative.”
The full New York Times article can be found here.
