RFK Jr.'s False Claims On Aluminum In Vaccines Could Lead To A Ban

Forbes

4 days ago

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy may soon be asking the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to examine aluminum ingredients in vaccines, according to Bloomberg News. Kennedy has long falsely asserted that vaccines containing aluminum salts as an adjuvant cause health problems. He has made similar claims regarding vaccines that include thimerasol as an adjuvant. In June, ACIP recommended against the use of thimerasol in influenza vaccines. Unlike thimerasol, which is only used in a small percentage of influenza vaccines, multiple types of vaccines contain aluminum. This implies that a possible decision to curb or ban its use could have far-reaching implications.
Speaking to governors on July 26th, RFK Jr. said 'we need to look at the aluminum in the vaccines to see if that has anything to do with this explosion of allergies that began in 1989, which was the year they expanded the vaccine schedule.' He specifically cited the hepatitis B jab, falsely saying that in Israel doses of hepatitis B vaccines are not given after birth (they are).
This isn't the first time Kennedy has criticized the use of aluminum in vaccines. He said on a podcast in 2024 that aluminum in vaccines is 'extremely neurotoxic.'
Aluminum salts are used in vaccines as an adjuvant to help boost a person's immune response. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this ingredient has been used safely in vaccines for more than 70 years, initially in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s with diphtheria and tetanus vaccines; later, in routinely recommended hepatitis, human papilloma virus, pneumococcal and meningococcal vaccines. Of note, aluminum is not used in live, weakened viral vaccines, like measles, mumps, rubella, varicella and rotavirus.
Vaccines containing aluminum salts are tested for safety and effectiveness in clinical trials before they are licensed for use in the United States, and these vaccines are continuously monitored by the CDC and Food and Drug Administration once they are approved. While at high doses, aluminum is a neurotoxin, the amount contained in vaccines is minuscule.
The thimerosal story hints at what could happen should ACIP recommend against the use of aluminum salts. Vaccine makers have long used the mercury-based preservative thimerosal to prevent microbial growth. Experts don't consider thimerosal unsafe. Yet Kennedy's new handpicked ACIP panel voted against flu shots containing thimerosal, despite lack of evidence of negative health effects. Kennedy has now signed off on the recommendation to remove thimerosal from influenza vaccines distributed in the United States. This only impacts a relatively small percentage (4%) of flu vaccines administered to Americans. On the other hand, removing aluminum would impact a much larger number of vaccines.
Aluminum is found in numerous foods and beverages, including fruits and vegetables, beer and wine, seasonings, flour, cereals, nuts, dairy products, baby formulas and honey. And besides vaccines, other health products such as antacids, buffered aspirin and antiperspirants contain aluminum. Typically, adults ingest seven to nine milligrams of aluminum daily.
Kennedy's claim that aluminum in vaccines is causing an explosion of allergies is considered misinformation by experts. Moreover, his assertion that Israel delays the hepatitis B shot is inaccurate; Israel follows World Health Organization guidelines and vaccinates newborns just like the U.S. While there has been a worldwide rise in allergies, experts don't attribute it to vaccines. It's considered a complex issue driven by environmental factors, genetics and lifestyle.
A newly published study of over one million people in Denmark found no link between aluminum and 50 chronic conditions, including autism, allergies and autoimmune diseases. The research included more than 1.2 million people in Denmark who received childhood vaccines. Researchers analyzed medical records of these individuals over a 24-year period. The catalyst for the Danish research was a widely criticized CDC-funded study, published in 2022, that suggested a link between aluminum in childhood vaccines and increased asthma risk. The study, however, didn't distinguish between aluminum from vaccines and from other sources.
Previous analyses also showed no correlation between aluminum exposure through vaccines and risks of disease. In 2000, the U.S.-based National Vaccine Program Office determined that no changes to vaccine recommendations were needed after it conducted a review. Likewise, the World Health Organization's Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety evaluated studies and found no evidence of health risks that would require changes to vaccine policy.