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Since the 1930s, manufacturers have added minute quantities of mercury to
vaccines to preserve them. But the American Academy of Pediatrics has now asked
the industry to find alternatives. The academy points to a study from the US
Food and Drug Administration showing that infants who receive multiple vaccines
could exceed the mercury exposure limits set by environmental agencies. Jon
Abramson, a paediatrician who chairs the academy’s infectious disease committee,
says that “the FDA and the companies will move very quickly”. The WHO says that
it supports the academy’s position, but stresses that existing vaccines should
still be used until alternatives are available.