Washington News: New Washington Law Limits Mercury in Vaccines

January 1, 2008 10:45 am Topics: Vaccinations

Published in the January 2008 Washington State Board of Pharmacy Newsletter

As of July 1, 2007, a new law went into effect that prohibits pregnant women and children under three years of age from getting vaccines with a mercury (thimerosal) content higher than the following limits:

• µg per 0.5 ml dose for influenza vaccines
• 0.5 µg per 0.5 ml dose for all other vaccines

The Secretary of the Washington State Department of Health may suspend these limits temporarily when the Secretary or local health officer declares either an outbreak of vaccine-preventable disease, or a shortage of a vaccine that complies with the mercury limits above.

Currently, only three vaccines exceed the law’s mercury limits:

1. Multi-dose vials of influenza vaccines (there are mercury-free influenza vaccines in single-dose presentations)
2. Menomune, a meningococcal vaccine licensed for two years of age and older
3. A vaccine that protects against Japanese encephalitis; recommended for those traveling to certain countries of Asia where the traveler is staying longer than one month

To comply with the law, providers should:

• Only vaccinate pregnant women or children under three years of age with vaccines that comply with our law’s mercury limits.
• Keep up-to-date with which vaccines exceed legal mercury limits. For more information, visit www.doh.wa.gov/cfh/Immunize/vaccine/vaccine-safety.htm.
• Prepare for flu season by ordering appropriate amounts of mercury-free vaccine. For information on mercury-free flu vaccines for the 2007-2008 season and pre-booking for the 2008-2009 season, visit www.doh.wa.gov/cfh/Immunize/vaccine/vaccine-supply.htm.

To obtain additional information, please visit the department’s Web site www.doh.wa.gov/cfh/Immunize/documents/thimerosal-faqs.pdf.