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Vaccines and Mercury

Thimerosal is a pharmaceutical compound that is nearly 50 percent mercury that was developed in 1927. It has been used as an antimicrobial agent in a range of products, but perhaps most notoriously as a preservative in vaccines.

However, there has been evidence dating as far back as the early 1930’s that thimerosal is both ineffective and hazardous. Nonetheless, thimerosal was not properly tested until the 1980’s, when the FDA recognized its toxicity and began to eliminate it from topical antiseptics. But while thimerosal was being eliminated from topicals, it was being used more and more in immunization for infants and pregnant women.

A new review of the safety and effectiveness of thimerosal in the Journal of

Toxicology and Environmental Health has concluded that the continued use of thimerosal represents nothing less than a medical crisis. Thimerosal continues to be used as part of mandated immunizations in the United States and globally.

Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health

Accidental Deaths Due to Prescription Drugs on the Rise

Prescription DrugsAccording to the CDC, deaths resulting from prescription drugs have risen to ecome the second-largest cause of unintentional deaths in the United States. Such deaths increased by 61 percent in 1999, growing from 4.4 per 100,000 people in that year to 7.1 per 100,000 people in 2004.

Deaths from psychotherapeutic drugs, such antidepressants and sedatives, nearly doubled, jumping from 671 deaths to 1,300.

The biggest jump among any age group was for those aged 15 to 24, which may be related to a rise in recreational prescription drug use. However, all age groups, except for those over 75, experienced increases of more than 35 percent. Those aged 45 to 64 saw a jump of more than 90 percent.

Death Rates From Prescription Drugs Explode at the Beginning of Each Month


According to research, deaths attributed to medication errors rise by as much as 25 percent above normal in the first few days of every month. This study is the first to document a beginning-of-the-month boost in deaths associated with mistakes in prescription drugs.

The Problem

The primary culprit behind these death rates: A beginning-of-the-month increase in pharmacy workloads and a consequential increase in their error rates. To offer a further explanation of this occurrence, one sociologist stated, "Government assistance payments to the old, sick and the poor are typically received at the beginning of each month. Because of this, there is a beginning-of-the-month spike in purchases of prescription medications."

However, further findings suggest otherwise.

Researchers examined all United States death certificates from 1970 to 2000 to analyze some 131,000 deaths caused by fatal poisoning accidents from drugs. They found that a small number (3 percent) of the deaths were from adverse effects of the right drug taken at the right dose, while the majority of deaths (97 percent) resulted from medication errors:

  • Wrong dose given or taken
  • Accidental overdose of a drug
  • A drug taken inadvertently

It was also discovered that the beginning-of-the-month spike in deaths was apparent in the young and well as in the elderly and poor, indicating the problem is partially due to pharmacy error.

(The study did not include specific clinical information regarding prescription type, dosage or days supply, nor did it include deaths associated with overdose of street drugs or from intentional poisoning.)

The Solution

In order to reduce the medication-error death rate researchers recommended:

  • Pharmacies to consider increasing staffing levels at the beginning of each month
  • Government officials to consider spreading assistance payments out over the entire month, rather than the beginning
  • Both patients and clinical staff to make a special effort to check the accuracy of their prescriptions at the beginning of each month 

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