Anyone find any thimerosal free vaccine (injectable) yet?

[Anonymous]

Looking for my 14 month old. TIA.

[Anonymous]

I saw an article in the Post saying that the CDC is asking the vax companies to focus on multi-dose vials (i.e., with thimerisol) because they can be made about 5 times as quickly as the single-dose vials. So I'm worried about when there will be the singe-dose (thim-free) available.

I asked my nurse at a Sat DC clinic (I was vaccinated this weekend), and she said the only place that has the thim-free doses is Wisconsin or someplace...and she said she thinks it'll be a while until there's any available here.

I too am waiting for a thim-free shot for my 20-month-old.

[Anonymous]

I do not mean to be rude, I am trying to understand the rationale for waiting. If it was available I would understand choosing the thimerisol free vaccine. However it is not available and young children take up to 5 weeks and two shots to reach full immunity. H1N1 is in the community (I personally know numerous families whose children have contracted it) and there is a very real risk that some small percentage of otherwise healthy children will become very very sick and some (hopefully extremely small number) of those children will in fact die. I do not think of myself as a hysteric but this scares the crap out of me.

Do you have some belief that it will suddenly become available? Does your child have an identified sensitivity to thimerisol or is he/she in an at risk group? Do you think that the risk from a small amount of thimerisol one (or two) times is higher than the risk of not getting your child the vaccine? Are you just not that sold on the vaccine?

The above list of questions is how I think about this, I am trying to understand the other side.

[Anonymous]

I agree. It's one thing to generally want to avoid thimerosal. But it's another to wait on a vaccine for a virus you care about so much, all over 12.5 mcg of mercury. I'd just get the regular one and if you can find thimerosal-free for the booster, then get that one and save yourself the other 12.5 mcg.

Seriously, this is too small an amount to worry about. When we were kids, pretty much every vaccine had mercury in it. You're just talking about one in a lifetime.

[Anonymous]

I'm one of those DCUM people who isn't in DC (Philly area). But just to let you know, NJ just got a shipment of these vaxs, as did my friend in NC. Reason for me saying this is that I think some are trickling in now.... that said, I agree with the PP about not waiting.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the info on what is going on in other states.