Are vaccines unsafe and useless?

In an interview on Mike Rowe’s YouTube show, criminologist Gavin de Becker claims that vaccines are unsafe because they can spread through the body, harm the heart and brain, contain dangerous chemicals like mercury, and don’t really stop diseases.

Gavin de Becker starts off his interview talking about trusting experts, but yet draws the line when it comes to vaccines. He believes vaccines harm the body, contain dangerous ingredients, and don’t stop diseases.

Polio was wiped out in the United States is mostly because of vaccines. In the 1950s, scientists made the first polio vaccine, which was a huge step forward in medicine. These vaccines worked very well to stop the spread of polio. They helped kids live normal lives again and gave parents peace of mind. Before the measles vaccine, nearly every child got it before the age of 15. Since the measles vaccination, even a single case is national news.

Lately, aluminum and mercury in vaccines have been hot button issues. Aluminum is sometimes added to vaccines as an adjuvant, to help the body’s immune system respond better. This means children need fewer doses to get full protection. Research has shown over and over that the tiny amount of aluminum in vaccines is far below levels that could be harmful. Our bodies already handle small amounts of aluminum because it’s naturally found in food, water, and even some medicines.

Most of the aluminum from vaccines leaves the body quickly through the kidneys. One study published in Vaccine found that the amount in vaccines is much smaller than what people take in every day from food and the environment. The small amount that stays in the body for a short time does not build up to dangerous levels. Vaccines save millions of lives every year, and their benefits are much greater than the very small and disproven risks sometimes claimed.

We also know a lot about thimerosal. Thimerosal, a mercury compound used in some flu vaccines today, has caused concern due to its name being confused with a harmful type of mercury. Thimerosal contains ethylmercury, which is safe and quickly leaves the body. It’s different from harmful methylmercury found in some fish. Thimerosal has been used safely in vaccines, drugs, and contact solutions since the 1930s.

Studies on babies, including those preterm and low-weight babies, show that ethylmercury leaves the body quickly. About half of it is gone in three to seven days, and the rest is flushed out in the baby’s stool. Within a month after getting a vaccine, mercury levels in the blood return to normal, so it does not accumulate over time.

Studies also show that thimerosal does not increase the risk of autism and does not harm the brain or body. Additionally, thimerosal has not been used in childhood vaccines since 2001. Autism diagnoses continued to rise following the 2001 removal of thimerosal from all childhood vaccines. The continued rise of autism diagnoses is, in fact, mostly due to growing awareness and changing diagnostic criteria.