ALUMINUM – VACCINE RISK STATEMENT (VRS)

ALUMINUM IN VACCINES Delivering Data on Infectious Diseases & Vaccines™

What Parents Need to Know Available in other languages at

physiciansforinformedconsent.org/aluminum

1. WHAT IS ALUMINUM? 4. IS EXPOSURE TO ALUMINUM SAFE?

Aluminum is a silvery-white, moldable, and durable light The FDA has considered aluminum to be generally
metal. These qualities make it useful in numerous industries recognized as safe (GRAS) since 1975.9 However, before
and products, including machinery, construction, storage, 1990, the technology did not exist to accurately detect
cookware, eating utensils, textiles, dyes, and cosmetics. small quantities of aluminum administered to subjects in
Aluminum is also the most abundant metal in the Earth’s scientific studies.10 Consequently, the amount of aluminum
crust, and virtually all aluminum in the environment is in that could be absorbed before the onset of negative effects
soil. However, aluminum is not naturally found in significant was not known.
amounts in living organisms (such as plants and animals),
and aluminum has no known biological function. During the Since 1990, due to advancements in technology, small
past century, aluminum usage in certain products has led amounts of aluminum that remain in the human body have
to higher human exposure. The greatest sources of such been observed to interfere with a variety of cellular and
metabolic processes in the nervous system and in tissues
exposure are aluminum-containing foods (e.g., baking powder,
of other parts of the body.1,10,11 The greatest negative effects
processed foods, infant formulas, etc.), medical products (e.g.,
of aluminum have been observed in the nervous system
antiperspirants, antacids, etc.), allergy shots, and vaccines.1-3
and range from motor skill impairment to encephalopathy
(altered mental state, personality changes, difficulty
2. WHY IS ALUMINUM IN VACCINES? thinking, loss of memory, seizures, coma, and more).2,12
Certain vaccines use aluminum compounds (i.e., aluminum The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
hydroxide and aluminum phosphate) as adjuvants, recognizes aluminum as a known neurotoxin.2 In addition,
ingredients that enhance the immune response to an antigen the FDA has warned about the risks of aluminum toxicity in
(foreign substance).4,5 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration infants and children.13
(FDA) states that if some vaccines did not include aluminum,
the immune response they trigger may be diminished.6

3. WHICH VACCINES CONTAIN ALUMINUM?

“Term infants with normal renal function may also be at
The following vaccines contain aluminum and are administ- risk because of their rapidly growing and immature brain
ered to infants, children and adolescents (Fig. 1): and skeleton, and an immature blood-brain barrier. Until
they are 1 to 2 years old, infants have lower glomerular
• Hepatitis B (HepB)
filtration rates than adults, which affects their kidney
• Diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (whooping cough) function. The agency is concerned that young children
(DTaP and Tdap) and children with immature renal function are at a
• Haemophilus influenzae type b (PedvaxHIB) higher risk resulting from any exposure to aluminum.”
• Pneumococcal (PCV) — U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), June 200313
• Hepatitis A (HepA)
• Human papillomavirus (HPV)
• Meningococcal B (MenB)
5. 
HOW MUCH ORAL ALUMINUM IS
UNSAFE?
Figure 1: Up to 22 Doses of Aluminum-Containing Vaccines In 2008, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Are Administered from Birth to 18 Years of Age7,8
Registry (ATSDR), a division of HHS, used studies of the
neurotoxic effects of aluminum to determine that no more
12 months than 1 milligram (mg) (1,000 micrograms [mcg]) of aluminum
— 6 years per kilogram (kg) of body weight should be taken orally per
Birth — day to avoid aluminum’s negative effects.2
6 months 11— 12 years
The U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS) states that aluminum is a neu-
rotoxin and exposure can lead to significant
16 — 18 years “alterations in motor function, sensory
function, and cognitive function.”2
 ALUMINUM – VACCINE RISK STATEMENT (VRS)

6. HOW MUCH INJECTED ALUMINUM IS 8. HAVE ANY STUDIES COMPARED THE

UNSAFE? AMOUNT OF ALUMINUM IN VACCINES
To determine the amount of aluminum that can be safely TO THE ATSDR-DERIVED LIMIT?
injected requires a conversion of the ATSDR oral aluminum
A recent study that intended to compare the amount
limit. The ATSDR oral aluminum limit is based on 0.1% of
of aluminum in vaccines to the ATSDR-derived bloodstream
oral aluminum being absorbed into the bloodstream, as the
limit was published in 2011.20 However, this study incorrectly
digestive tract blocks nearly all oral aluminum (Fig. 2a).2 In
based its calculations on 0.78% of oral aluminum being
contrast, aluminum injected intramuscularly bypasses the
absorbed into the bloodstream rather than the value of 0.1%
digestive tract, and 100% of aluminum may be absorbed into
used by the ATSDR in its computations.21,22 As a result, the
the bloodstream over time (i.e., the proportion of absorbed
2011 study assumed that nearly 8 (0.78%/0.1%) times more
aluminum is 1,000 times greater). To account for these
aluminum can safely enter the bloodstream, and this led to
different absorption amounts, the ATSDR oral aluminum limit
an incorrect conclusion.
must be divided by 1,000. This conversion results in an ATSDR-
derived bloodstream aluminum limit of 1 mcg of aluminum
(0.1% of 1,000 mcg) per kg of body weight per day (Fig. 2b). 9. IS EXPOSURE TO ALUMINUM FROM
Consequently, to avoid the neurotoxic effects of aluminum, no VACCINES SAFE?
more than 1 mcg of aluminum per kg of body weight should
Vaccines are injected intramuscularly, and the rate at which
enter the bloodstream on a daily basis. Figure 3 shows the
aluminum from vaccines migrates from human muscle to the
ATSDR-derived bloodstream aluminum limit for infants of
bloodstream is not known. Studies in animals suggest that
various ages based on their weight.
it can take from a couple of months to more than a year for
Oral Aluminum ≠ Injected Aluminum2 aluminum from vaccines to enter into the bloodstream, due
• Oral aluminum limit = 1,000 mcg/kg/day • Bloodstream aluminum limit = 1 mcg/kg/day to multiple variables.23-25 Because the cumulative aluminum
• Digestive tract blocks the absorption of all • Bloodstream may absorb 100% of intramuscu-
larly injected aluminum over time
exposure from vaccines in children less than 1 year old exceeds
but about 0.1% of oral aluminum
the ATSDR-derived daily limit by several hundreds (Figs. 3 and
4), the limit would still be exceeded if aluminum from vaccines
entered the bloodstream over the course of about a year.
Moreover, studies have shown that aluminum from vaccines
is absorbed by immune cells that travel to distant parts of the
body, including the brain.26
2a 2b

Figures 2a, 2b: When taken orally, only about 0.1% of aluminum is able to Studies have also shown that adverse effects of aluminum
enter the bloodstream through the digestive tract (2a). In contrast, when in vaccines may not be restricted to neurological conditions.
intramuscularly injected, the proportion of aluminum that enters the blood-
stream over time is 1,000 times greater (100%) because the digestive tract A study published in Academic Pediatrics found that asthma
is bypassed (2b). occurred in 1 in 183 vaccinated children for every 1 mg
(1,000 mcg) increase in aluminum exposure.27
7. HOW MUCH ALUMINUM IS IN VACCINES?
The extent of the negative effects of aluminum in vaccines
The amount of aluminum in vaccines varies.16 In 1968, the is not known, as safety studies comparing a population
federal government set the limit for the amount of aluminum vaccinated with aluminum-containing vaccines to a population
in vaccines to 850 mcg per dose based on the amount of not vaccinated with such vaccines have not been conducted.
aluminum needed to make certain vaccines effective.6,17
Consequently, the amount of aluminum in aluminum- Amount of Aluminum in Vaccines7,18,19
containing childhood vaccines ranges from 125 to 850 mcg 900

per dose. Figure 4 shows the aluminum content of one dose 800

of various vaccines administered to children.7,18,19

700

600

ATSDR-Derived Bloodstream Aluminum Limit2,14,15 500

400

300

200

100

Figure 4: This graph shows the aluminum content of one dose of various vaccines
Figure 3: This chart shows the aluminum limit for infants of various ages, as administered to children. The administration of one dose each of Prevnar 13,
derived from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, a division PedvaxHIB, Engerix-B, and Infanrix at one visit delivers 1,225 mcg of aluminum.
of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The limit indicates that no PCV, Hib, HepB, and DTaP vaccines are administered multiple times by 6 months
more than 1 mcg of aluminum per kg of body weight should enter the bloodstream of age. The rate at which aluminum from vaccines migrates from human muscle
on a daily basis to avoid the neurotoxic effects of aluminum. to the bloodstream is not known.

All references are available at physiciansforinformedconsent.org/aluminum.

These statements are intended for informational purposes only and should not be construed as personal medical advice.
© 2023 Physicians for Informed Consent, an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization.
All rights reserved. For more information, visit physiciansforinformedconsent.org. 2020 Aug; updated 2023 Apr.
 ALUMINUM – VACCINE RISK STATEMENT (VRS)

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© 2023 Physicians for Informed Consent, an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization.
All rights reserved. For more information, visit physiciansforinformedconsent.org. 2020 Aug; updated 2023 Apr.