Is it possible that aluminum in vaccines could be harmful to normal, healthy babies?

No. Minute amounts of aluminum salts, less than from breastfeeding or formula feeding, are in some vaccine formulations as an adjuvant to enhance the immune response.

  • During the first 6 months of life, infants could receive about 4 milligrams of aluminum from vaccines. That's not very much: a milligram is one-thousandth of a gram and a gram is the weight of one-fifth of a teaspoon of water. During the same period, babies will also receive about 10 milligrams of aluminum in breast milk, about 40 milligrams in infant formula, or about 120 milligrams in soy-based formula.
  • The quantity of aluminum in vaccines is tiny compared with the quantity required to cause harm. Here's another way to think about this: All babies are either breastfed or bottle-fed. Because both breast milk and infant formula contain aluminum, all babies have small quantities of aluminum in their bloodstreams all the time. The amount is very small: about 5 nanograms (billionths of a gram) per milliliter of blood (about one-fifth of a teaspoon). Indeed, the quantity of aluminum in vaccines is so small that even after an injection of vaccines; the amount of aluminum in a baby's blood does not detectably change. In contrast, the amount of aluminum in the bloodstreams of people who suffer health problems from aluminum is at least 100 times greater than the amount found in the bloodstreams of healthy people. (6)

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1. I have heard vaccines are more dangerous than the diseases they protect against. Isn't it safer for my child to get the disease?
2. Can vaccines cause encephalitis (brain inflammation) and other severe consequences?
3. If vaccines are safe, why has the federal government paid more than $2 billion to children and adults injured by vaccines?
4. Is it possible that aluminum in vaccines could be harmful to normal, healthy babies?
5. Is it true many as 50% of vaccines used in the U.S. contain mercury, which has been linked in the media with autism?
6. I have heard about the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS). Does this mean there are more dangers from vaccines than are being reported to VAERS?
7. Why should I vaccinate my child when vaccines are not 100% effective and don't always last a lifetime?
8. Is it difficult to get legal exemptions to vaccination for school enrollment?