Aluminum in Vaccines: What You Should Know
Aluminum is one of the most common elements on Earth. We’re exposed to it daily—in food, water, even the air. But what about the aluminum in childhood vaccines? Is it something to worry about?
Let’s break it down.
Why Is Aluminum in Vaccines?
Aluminum salts are used as adjuvants—ingredients that boost the body’s immune response to the vaccine. That means fewer doses are needed to build strong protection, and lower amounts of the inactivated viral or bacterial antigen can be used. Aluminum is not necessary in live virus vaccines like MMR and MMRV. The aluminum increases inactivated vaccine efficacy by at least 90%.
How Much Aluminum Are We Talking About?
Vaccines contain very small amounts of aluminum—usually between 125 to 850 micrograms per dose (that’s about the weight of a grain of salt).
To put it in perspective:
· A breastfed infant ingests about 7 mg (=7000 micrograms) of aluminum in the first six months of life.
· The total amount from all recommended vaccines in that time is less than 4.5 mg—and it’s absorbed slowly over weeks to months.
How Is Aluminum Processed in the Body?
This is key:
· Oral aluminum (from food or formula) is poorly absorbed—only about 0.1% makes it into the bloodstream. The rest is excreted in poop.
· Injected aluminum is absorbed gradually from the muscle into the bloodstream and then excreted through the kidneys over several weeks. In healthy infants, this process is very effective, and studies show that aluminum does not build up to toxic levels.
What About Safety?
Aluminum toxicity is extremely rare, and mostly affects people with severe kidney problems or those receiving long-term IV nutrition without proper monitoring. The FDA has set strict limits for aluminum in injectable products (like IV fluids)—and vaccines fall well within those limits.
In fact, the amount of aluminum in vaccines is carefully calculated to be both safe and effective. Decades of research and real-world experience back this up.
Bottom Line
· Aluminum in vaccines is safe at the levels used.
· It plays a critical role in making vaccines work better—leading to fewer boosters and less antigen exposure.
· The body handles aluminum very efficiently, especially in healthy children.
1. The MMR and MMRV (measles-mumps-rubella-varicella) vaccines do not contain mercury or aluminum
2. All routine childhood vaccines in the U.S. became thimerosal-free in 2001
3. The only vaccine that contains mercury (in the form of thimerosal) is the flu shot in multi-dose vials - the one they use at “flu shot clinics”
4. These vaccines contain aluminum:
Meningococcal
DTaP (Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis)
Tdap (Booster)
Hepatitis A
Hepatitis B
Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b)
HPV (Human Papillomavirus)
Pneumococcal (PCV13, PPSV23)
Meningococcal.
2. Vaccines contribute approximately 4.4 mg of aluminum in the first year.
3. Breast milk: 11 mg/year
4. Cow’s milk formula: 62 mg/year
5. Soy formula: 126 mg/year Soy formula contains approximately 29 times more aluminum than the total amount received from vaccines in the first year of life.
6. Aluminum from vaccines is cleared by healthy kidneys within days.
So, even with a full vaccination schedule, dietary sources of aluminum far exceed vaccine-related exposure — especially with formula feeding, where levels can be 10–30x higher.
Mitkus et al., 2011 – "Updated Aluminum Pharmacokinetics Following Infant Exposures Through Diet and Vaccines" Vaccine, Vol 29, Issue 51 (2011), pp. 9538–9543. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22001122/
Further references available - search Google Scholar
