Recommendations Regarding the Use of Vaccines That Contain Thimerosal as a Preservative

Details

• Alternative Title:
  MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Vol. 48, No. 43, November 5, 1999: Recommendations Regarding the Use of Vaccines That Contain Thimerosal as a Preservative
• Journal Article:
  MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
• Corporate Authors:
  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)
• Description:
  On October 20, 1999, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) reviewed information about thimerosal in vaccines and received updates from CDC’s National Immunization Program and several vaccine manufacturers on the current and anticipated availability of vaccines that do not contain thimerosal as a preservative. The review was prompted by a joint statement about thimerosal issued July 8, 1999, by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Public Health Service (PHS) and a comparable statement released by the American Academy of Family Physicians. These statements followed a Congressionally mandated Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review of mercury in drugs and food, which included a reassessment of the use of thimerosal in vaccines. Thimerosal is a mercury-containing preservative that has been used as an additive in biologics and vaccines since the 1930s because it prevents bacterial and fungal contamination, particularly in multidose containers. Given the widely acknowledged value of reducing exposure to mercury, vaccine manufacturers, FDA, and other PHS agencies are collaborating to reduce the thimerosal content of vaccines or to replace them with formulations that do not contain thimerosal as a preservative as soon as possible without causing unnecessary disruptions in the vaccination system. FDA will expedite review of supplements to manufacturers’ product license applications that present formulations for eliminating or reducing the mercury content of vaccines.
• Subjects:
  Ethylmercury Compounds Mercury Methylmercury Compounds Preservatives, Pharmaceutical Safety Thimerosal Vaccines
• Keywords:
  Vaccine Safety
• Source:
  MMWR: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 1999; v. 48, no. 43
• Series:
  Weekly Report: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• ISSN:
  0149-2195 (print) ; 1545-861X (digital)
• Publisher:
  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (U.S.)
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  United States
• Rights:
  Public Domain
• Pages in Document:
  5 pdf pages
• Volume:
  48
• Issue:
  43
• CAS Registry Number:
  Thimerosal (CAS RN 54-64-8) ; Mercury (CAS RN 7439-97-6) ; Ethylmercury (CAS RN 21687-36-5) ; Methylmercury(1+) (CAS RN 22967-92-6)
• Collection(s):
  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7f8d89b841ca0f847fa6d6d723aab3880c8d6e99d4a5551afc4e8a8571a3170b10183dfe70fb470ba2164fe3d7619be3179aacd4b45dde677445046aca7be607
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/253143/cdc_253143_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 110.77 KB ]