CNN publishes more fake news. This time about mercury in vaccines.

World Mercury Project breaks down truths, half-truths and lies by CNN.

.....What happens to the preservative in your body?

CNN Statement: Your body easily eliminates the thimerosal. Unlike chemicals that might stay in your body for a long time, it is quickly removed from the blood and excreted in your waste. Thimerosal does not build up in your system like other mercury-based compounds can. (Note, this link takes you to the CDC website where this statement is repeated, but with no references or resources to support the claim)

WMP Fact: This statement is patently false. Thimerosal does leave the blood stream faster than methylmercury, but that is because it more quickly moves into the tissue and organs in the body than methylmercury. A 2005 study funded by the National Institutes of Health compared brain mercury levels in infant monkeys exposed to injected ethylmercury (thimerosal) and equal amounts of ingested methylmercury. In this study, ethylmercury exposure resulted in twice as much inorganic mercury in the brains of the infant monkeys compared to those exposed to methylmercury. Specifically, the relative concentrations in monkeys with detectable levels of inorganic mercury were 16 ng/g in thimerosal-treated monkeys and 7 ng/g in the methylmercury-treated monkeys in which inorganic mercury levels were detectable. Inorganic mercury was below detectable levels in 8 out of 17 of the methylmercury-treated monkeys. Inorganic mercury has an estimated half-life in the brain of 27 years. Exposures to mercury during these critical periods of development disrupt the growth and migration of neurons, with the potential to cause irreversible damage to the central nervous system.

Is it safe?

CNN Statement: Hundreds of studies have shown that it is extremely safe for humans. Several comprehensive reviews have shown there is no evidence of harm caused by low doses. (This links to the CDC website, but there is no data to support this claim on the site.) In animals, some studies have shown central nervous problems, coma and death, although the same has not been found in humans.

WMP Fact: There are several reports of deaths in the medical literature from exposure to thimerosal. In April of 2001 thimerosal was nominated by the FDA to be reviewed by the National Toxicology Program (NTP) due to the lack of toxicity and safety data. In the nomination, several cases of acute mercury poisoning from thimerosal-containing products were documented. These reports included the exposure to thimerosal from immune globulin (Matheson 1980) hepatitis B immune globulin (Lowell 1996), thimerosal ear irrigations in a children with tympanostomy tubes (Royhans 1994), thimerosal treatment of omphaloceles in infants (Fagan 1977), and a suicide attempt with thimerosal (Pfab 1996). These studies reported local necrosis, acute hemolysis, disseminated intravascular coagulation, acute renal tubular necrosis, and central nervous system injury including obtundation, coma, and death resulting from the exposures.....