Why do some people continue to believe that flu shots contain mercury?
The usual suspects…
Flu Shots Still Don’t Contain Mercury
First though, as a reminder, flu shots have never contained mercury.
What they have contained is thimerosal, a preservative that gets broken down to ethylmercury.
Wait, but isn’t that still mercury?
No, it isn’t.
Organic mercury gets broken down to methylmercury.
They are two different compounds that behave very differently in our bodies, with ethylmercury being cleared quicker, which is why it is considered to be safe.
What else?
Only about 1% of flu shots, those in multidose vials, still contain thimerosal.
“Most (99%) of the projected influenza vaccine supply produced this influenza season does not contain thimerosal as a preservative.”
Projected flu vaccine supply for the 2026-2027 flu season
All of which should leave you wondering why anti-vaccine influencers are still pushing the idea that flu shots contain mercury!
Anti-vaccine types are so out there that they make the smallest percentages into the largest.