Aluminum in Vaccines Unlikely to Cause Alzheimer’s
The Claim
The aluminum in some vaccines causes Alzheimer's disease.
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Emerging story
In late September 2020, following discussion of a potential coronavirus vaccine, many expressed concern over vaccines' possible relation to Alzheimer’s disease.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar’s investigation found that many vaccines contain a small amount of aluminum. Some studies have shown that aluminum can cause health problems.
It’s difficult to gauge exactly when the misconception relating aluminum to Alzheimer's spread. Antivaxxers have probably existed as long as vaccines themselves. Many netizens pull from academic data to construct their arguments (even though much of is fabricated, namely the infamous autism study).
There is no denying that aluminum can be toxic. However, this toxicity depends on the amount of aluminum present.
Government regulators like the FDA have a strict limit on how much aluminum can be in vaccines. They cannot contain more than .85mg/dose. The EFSA states that the maximum amount of aluminum one can ingest per week as one milligram per kilogram of body weight (a kilogram is about 2.2 pounds). In the US, the average adult weighs 80.7 kg. They could tolerate 80 mg of aluminum – far, far less than the maximum recommended amount for vaccines.
Further, according to the Alzheimer’s Association, the link between aluminum and Alzheimer’s has been debunked, with very few experts still believing there is a causal link between the two.
