Parliamentary question - E-003540/2011Parliamentary question
E-003540/2011

Thimerosal in compulsory vaccinations for infants

Question for written answer E-003540/2011
to the Commission
Rule 117
Jarosław Leszek Wałęsa (PPE)

Mercury in the form of thimerosal has been and remains present in many vaccinations for infants in Poland. It should be noted that mercury in all its forms is highly toxic; this is confirmed by over 4 100 publications in PubMed on the subject and many years of human experience.

As a result, infant mortality in Poland is twice as high as, for example, in Scandinavian countries.

Studies carried out throughout the world clearly show the connection between thimerosal and delayed language development, ADHD and autism.

Two of the obligatory vaccines in Poland — BCG and Hepatitis B — are administered soon after birth. There are many signs that the Hepatitis B vaccine, which delivers a dose of 25 μg Hg (mercury), poses a grave risk to the life and health of a child. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, this amount of mercury is 83 times the quantity considered safe for adults.

Most western countries withdrew vaccines containing thimerosal because of their harmful nature in 2000, following the example of Scandinavia in 1990. The authorisation of vaccines containing this substance for the Polish market is unacceptable. Since 2001, many questions have been put by Members of Parliament to the Polish Ministry of Health on the subject of vaccines containing thimerosal, but they have been systematically rejected by successive governments.

Both the Polish constitution and European law ensure the protection of the life and health of citizens and guarantee that children may be raised according to their parents’ convictions.

Does the Commission believe that it is right for substances as dangerous as these to be authorised for the EU’s pharmaceutical market and currently used in hospitals?

Will the Commission take action to stop the use of these vaccines, which are harmful to life and health, in Poland?

OJ C 309 E, 21/10/2011