- U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is publicly demanding an immediate, worldwide phase-out of mercury (thimerosal) in vaccines, calling its current use "morally indefensible."
- He specifically challenges the Minamata Convention on Mercury, a global treaty designed to protect health, for including a key exemption that allows thimerosal to remain in vaccines despite phasing out mercury in other products.
- Kennedy justifies his position by stating thimerosal is a potent neurotoxin that has never undergone proper human safety testing, a point supported by some medical professionals who agree all mercury is toxic to the body.
- His international push leverages a recent U.S. policy to remove thimerosal from all influenza vaccines, though the text notes the transition is not yet complete as some thimerosal-containing options remain for the current flu season.
- The initiative frames the removal of mercury from vaccines as a critical issue of public health and environmental justice, thrusting the controversial treaty exemption back into the international spotlight.
In a forceful address to a global environmental conference, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. called for an immediate worldwide phase-out of mercury in vaccines, challenging an exemption in a major international treaty that he called morally indefensible.
Speaking virtually to delegates at the Minamata Convention on Mercury this week, Kennedy leveraged the recent U.S. move to eliminate the preservative thimerosal from influenza vaccines to pressure other nations to follow suit.
According to BrightU.AI's Enoch, thimerosal is a mercury-based compound that was widely used as a preservative in multi-dose vials of vaccines starting in the 1930s to prevent bacterial and fungal contamination. Its use has been significantly reduced in childhood vaccines since the early 2000s as a precautionary measure."
"It's inexcusable that governments around the world still allow mercury-based compounds in healthcare when safe alternatives exist," Kennedy stated. "Now that America has removed mercury from all vaccines, I call on every global health authority and every party to this convention to do the same."
The Minamata Convention is a global treaty designed to protect human health from the toxic effects of mercury. However, Kennedy sharply criticized a key exemption within the pact. "In 2010, as the treaty took shape, negotiators made a major exception, thimerosal-containing vaccines were carved out of the regulation," Kennedy said. "The same treaty that began to phase out mercury in lamps and cosmetics chose to leave it in products injected into babies, pregnant women and the most vulnerable among us. We have to ask why."
A critical issue of public health and environmental justice
Kennedy bolstered his argument by citing the preservatives' potential dangers. "Thimerosal is a mercury-based preservative that has never undergone proper safety testing in humans," he asserted in his video message. "Hundreds of peer-reviewed studies identify it as a potent neurotoxin. There is not a single study that proves it safe."
His position found support from some medical professionals. "There is no use for mercury in the body and all mercury is toxic," said Dr. Meryl Nass. "Kennedy's call to remove mercury from all commercial medical products is entirely sound and, if heeded, will protect many individuals from future injuries."
The push comes just months after Kennedy led the U.S. Health Department in adopting a recommendation to remove thimerosal from all influenza vaccines. While thimerosal was removed from routine childhood vaccines in the U.S. over two decades ago, it has persisted in multi-dose flu vials. Despite the new U.S. policy, five multidose vials of influenza vaccine containing thimerosal remain listed as options for the current 2025-26 flu season, highlighting the challenges of a complete transition.
The Minamata Convention conference is also debating proposals to phase out mercury in dental amalgam and skin-lightening products. Kennedy’s intervention has thrust the controversial vaccine exemption back into the international spotlight, framing it as a critical issue of public health and environmental justice.
Watch this video to learn why mercury needs to be removed from vaccines.
This video is from the My Americana channel on Brighteon.com.
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