§ Lord Mackenzie of Culkeinasked Her Majesty's Goverment:
Whether they will follow the examples of regulators in Europe and the United States in recommending the phasing out of the use of thiomersal in vaccines to reduce exposure to mercury as much as possible. [HL3530]
§ Lord Warner:The European Medicines Agency (EMEA) updated its advice on use of thiomersal in vaccines in March 2004. It continues to advise that development of vaccines without thiomersal, or with the lowest possible levels of thiomersal and other mercury-containing preservatives, should continue to be promoted. However, it also acknowledges that during some manufacturing processes the use of organic mercury compounds is necessary and, in such cases, residual levels might be present in the final product. The Committee on Safety of Medicines (CSM) and the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation endorse the EMEA position. In line with this recommendation, a number of UK-licensed vaccines have recently had levels of thiomersal reduced or removed completely from the manufacture of the component antigens or from the final vaccine. The CSM continues to advise that the benefits of vaccination far outweigh the risks, if any, of exposure to thiomersal-containing vaccines.