A new fight over childhood vaccines is brewing, this time over aluminum. Specifically, FDA officials are considering the removal of aluminum salts from shots, a move that could put about half of childhood vaccinations at risk, reports the New York Times. President Trump signaled the fight during his July news conference about Tylenol, during which he echoed long-standing claims by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that aluminum in vaccines is linked to autism—a theory widely dismissed by the scientific community.
"We've already taken out and are in the process of taking out mercury and aluminum now," Trump said. "And there were rumors about both of them for a long time, but we're having them taken out." Aluminum salts have been used in vaccines since the 1920s to boost immune response, and the consensus among health experts is that the tiny amounts involved are safe and critical for effective immunization. "Previous scientific research has shown the amount of aluminum exposure in people who follow the recommended vaccine schedule is low and is not readily absorbed by the body," according to the current guidance on the CDC website.
Manufacturers such as Merck, Pfizer, GSK, and Sanofi say aluminum adjuvants have a proven safety record, and replacing them would mean starting vaccine development from scratch. Axios reports that one possible outcome is that vaccines with aluminum would remain available, though only after a sign-off from a doctor. That would fall short of what the president suggested. "Trump out-Kennedyed Kennedy," Robert Malone, a Kennedy appointee on the CDC vaccine advisory committee, tells the latter outlet. "The president feels very strongly about these issues, and maybe even more strongly than the secretary does."
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