US Officials Question Safety of Aluminum Adjuvants in Vaccines
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
The safety of a long-used vaccine ingredient—aluminum adjuvants in vaccines—is now under scrutiny by the Trump administration, a move that has spurred significant worry among public health experts and scientists.
For nearly a century, aluminum salts, which contain small amounts of aluminum, have been added to important vaccines to boost their effect on the immune system. These adjuvants stimulate cells to produce more antibodies, resulting in a stronger overall immune response. Vaccines that rely on aluminum include those protecting against diphtheria, tetanus, hepatitis, and the flu, as well as polio, human papillomavirus (HPV), pertussis, meningitis, and pneumonia.
Despite the fact that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says aluminum salts “have been used safely in vaccines for decades,” Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has led a campaign attacking their use. President Trump, too, recently stated, "We want no aluminum in the vaccine".
RFK Jr., a longtime vaccine critic, has a history of blaming aluminum for various ailments, including depression, anxiety, allergies, and Alzheimer's disease. Most recently, at a Washington conference, he suggested that aluminum in vaccines "fit the timeline perfectly" with the increased prevalence of food allergies. However, Kennedy acknowledged that he had "no science backing the connection".
A special working group reporting to the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is now formally studying the safety of ingredients like aluminum. One specific question being examined is whether either of the two different aluminum adjuvants increases the risk of asthma.
The vast majority of public health experts argue there is ample evidence that aluminum poses no real concern. Dr. Jesse Goodman, a vaccine expert at Georgetown University, calls aluminum "a very safe, but also effective stimulant of the immune system".
A large 2023 Danish study involving more than 1.2 million children found no association between aluminum adjuvants and asthma, nor did it see any evidence that aluminum is a cause of serious illness in childhood. Secretary Kennedy had demanded that the medical journal Annals of Internal Medicine retract the Danish study, but the editors refused. The CDC does cite an earlier, smaller 2022 observational study showing a possible relationship between aluminum exposure and asthma, noting that "further investigation is needed".
Scientists warn that attempting to remove aluminum would have devastating public health consequences. Dr. Stanley Plotkin, a leading authority on vaccine science, emphasizes that people are exposed to far more aluminum in the environment than from vaccines.
If federal regulators deemed aluminum unsafe, vaccine manufacturers would be forced to develop and test alternatives, a process that could take years. Critically, experts warn that removing aluminum would render the affected vaccines ineffective. Plotkin stated that to simply remove the adjuvant would be "incredibly stupid" and would lead to the return of diseases, noting, "what has happened with measles will happen with other diseases".
While some scientists, like Dr. Ofer Levy, are open to unbiased studies for potential improvement, they stress that no one should hesitate to receive existing vaccines containing aluminum in the meantime.
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Aluminum adjuvants in vaccines
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