Aluminum adjuvants (vaccine components that boost the immune response to a vaccine) make childhood vaccines more effective, and decades of research show they are not linked to autism, asthma or autoimmune disorders, according to a new report. The timely report, in Pediatrics, was co-authored by Global Health Faculty Fellows Dr. Bonnie Maldonado and Dr. Seth Hoffman, along with lead author Edward Nirenberg.

The authors called aluminum salt adjuvants “one of the most studied components of vaccines, with a safety record extending nearly a century and across billions of doses.”

The review summarizes the important role aluminum adjuvants play in developing the body’s immune response and evaluates the evidence of safety risks in light of growing misinformation around vaccine ingredients.

The authors find that aluminum salts have consistently been demonstrated over nearly a century of use to enhance the immune responses elicited by vaccines while also being well-tolerated by nearly all who take them. They also find that studies show that aluminum released from vaccines is slowly absorbed and efficiently cleared by the kidneys, contributing minimally to systemic levels.

“Nearly a century of evidence, including studies of over a million children worldwide, shows aluminum adjuvants are both safe and necessary for many life-saving, current-generation vaccines to work effectively,” said Dr. Hoffman. “Large-scale, high-quality studies consistently show no link to  autism spectrum disorder, neurotoxicity, allergic disease, or autoimmune disease.”

The report adds, “Clinicians can reassure caregivers that aluminum-containing vaccines provide clear benefits, with risks largely limited to transient local reactions and no systemic toxicity signal in large clinical and epidemiologic studies.”

To learn more, read the full publication or a summary by Pediatrics.

Photo credit of a person being vaccinated: CDC