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This blog post claims that vaccines given to infants contain less aluminum than is typically ingested from milk - especially formula milk. A more prestigious source of this claim is the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. They state:

While infants receive about 4.4 milligrams of aluminum in the first six months of life from vaccines, they receive more than that in their diet. Breast-fed infants ingest about 7 milligrams, formula-fed infants ingest about 38 milligrams, and infants who are fed soy formula ingest almost 117 milligrams of aluminum during the first six months of life.

However, this paper in Pediatric Nephrology says that the average infant on formula absorbs .0008 mg Al per kg of body weight per day (the breast-fed infant receives significantly less - on the order of 1/10). I can't resolve how this matches the claims above.

Is it true that more aluminum is ingested in the first six months of formula-drinking infant than is injected or ingested by the scheduled vaccines?

Barry Harrison
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Skylar Saveland
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    Whatever the calculations about the amount of aluminium (aluminum for US readers), you also have to take into account the chemistry of the compounds: some are essentially completely inert and will simply pass through the body (eg the hydroxide in antacids). – matt_black Aug 17 '12 at 09:54
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    @mmr added citation with comparison of Al in breast milk/formula. I think the forms of Al question is basically the crux here - most of the Al in breast milk (or Al taken orally in general) will not enter the blood stream. – Skylar Saveland Aug 17 '12 at 14:35
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    I think you may be confusing milligrams with micrograms in some of the papers. Also, basic chemistry seems to be a matter of confusion. Just think of the difference between Methyl and Ethyl alcohol... – Larian LeQuella Aug 18 '12 at 19:11
  • @LarianLeQuella anything specific or just a feeling? :D – Skylar Saveland Aug 19 '12 at 14:54
  • http://www.nature.com/jes/journal/v20/n7/abs/jes200964a.html – Skylar Saveland Apr 02 '15 at 22:55
  • I also reduced the commentary to just the claim and my basic calculations that seem to refute it. – Skylar Saveland Aug 17 '15 at 23:16
  • I removed the calculations. They contained a lot of assumptions about baby weights, confused ingested with absorbed, and generally distracted from the question - it isn't an answer to point out errors in your calculations. Re-opened. – Oddthinking Aug 18 '15 at 02:53
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    Side note: Injected, ingested and absorbed are different concepts. The basic idea of comparing the weight of Aluminum ingested versus injected seems a non-sequitur. I'll happily ingest a lot more beer than I will inject. – Oddthinking Aug 18 '15 at 02:55
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    I've come to the conclusion that the CHoP claim is technically true but is an intentional deception based on the pharmacokinetics of intramuscular versus oral aluminum. – Skylar Saveland Aug 18 '15 at 22:11
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    I suspect they get the most from the tin hats of their parents. – Daniel R Hicks May 06 '19 at 00:54
  • FWIW, if that 0.0008 mg/kg/day number is accurate, it suggests babies would absorb ~0.75mg in that 6-month period. – Kevin May 06 '19 at 01:23
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    Nobody ingests aluminum from vaccines. –  May 06 '19 at 05:25
  • From a paper CHOP cites, [here](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264410X02001652): "The calculated body burden of aluminum **from vaccinations exceeds that from dietary sources**, however, it is below the minimal risk level equivalent curve after the brief period following injection." Does this seem contrary to CHOP statements? – Barry Harrison May 06 '19 at 06:31
  • Also, I didn't see the numbers in any of CHOP's citations. – Barry Harrison May 06 '19 at 06:32
  • @SkylarSaveland "most of the Al in breast milk ...will not enter the blood stream" I am not sure how this could be true, everything in breastmilk gets there via the bloodstream of the mother. – James Jenkins May 07 '19 at 15:15
  • @fredsbend Why do you say nobody ingests aluminum from vaccines? There are oral vaccines. – Loren Pechtel May 08 '19 at 04:09
  • @LorenPechtel There's few, and none in the regular child schedule. Further, none I know of with aluminum. –  May 08 '19 at 04:11
  • @fredsbend None in the child schedule doesn't mean nobody. And while aluminum probably isn't an actual component that doesn't mean there isn't a trace amount anyway. – Loren Pechtel May 08 '19 at 04:18

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