Editing Pro-plague (section)

===Ingredients===
====Thiomersal====
{{main|Thiomersal}}

Some anti-vaxxers argue that vaccines are bad because they contain thiomersal. Usually, it is claimed that thiomersal is bad because it contains mercury. While some mercury-compounds ''are'' toxic, the concentrations of thiomersal in vaccines is so low as to be almost negligible, thiomersal's type of mercury-compound is significantly less harmful, and thiomersal has been phased out from most vaccines in developed countries.

====Aluminum====
Most vaccines contain aluminum compounds, generally aluminum hydroxide (Al(OH)<sub>3</sub>) or aluminum phosphate (AlPO<sub>4</sub>). These stimulate a more heightened immune response against the antigen in the vaccine, making it work better. Some anti-vaxxers claim that this aluminum causes autism when it is deposited in the brain, and autoimmune disorders anywhere else.<ref>[https://healthcareinamerica.us/did-chinese-scientists-find-autisms-missing-puzzle-piece-2d50be5b9122 Did Chinese scientists find autism’s missing puzzle piece?] by J.B. Handley, Jr., co-founder, [[Generation Rescue]] (February 22, 2017) ''Healthcare in America''.</ref> Though some aluminum compounds are [[The dose makes the poison|toxic at high doses]], the amount of aluminum adjuvant in any given vaccine is so low (and the amount of aluminum taken up by the brain is such a tiny fraction of that), that the risk posed by anti-vaxxers is completely overblown.<ref>[https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/concerns/adjuvants.html Vaccine Adjuvants] (September 12, 2016) ''Centers for Disease Control and Prevention''.</ref><ref>[https://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/ScienceResearch/ucm284520.htm Study Reports Aluminum in Vaccines Poses Extremely Low Risk to Infants] (02/06/2015) ''Food and Drug Administration''.</ref><ref>[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Vaccine+29+(2011)+9538-9543 Updated aluminum pharmacokinetics following infant exposures through diet and vaccination] by R. J. Mitkus et al. (2016) ''Vaccine'' 29(51):9538-43. doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2011.09.124.</ref>

====Intentionally tainted vaccines====
{{hatnote|See also: [[Anti-vaccination movement#Religious fearmongering]]}}
A growing number of [[Muslim]]s believe that [[West]]ern pharmaceutical companies have intentionally tainted the polio vaccines used in their countries.  They believe that Western powers secretly use the vaccines to spread AIDS and/or infertility among Muslims.  An alternative story, also applied to insulin, is that the vaccine's chain of manufacture includes live pigs or pig cells. Unfortunately, this wave of hysteria has led to a sharp decrease in polio vaccinations and an almost equally sharp increase in polio cases in Muslim countries.<ref>[http://www.news24.com/Africa/Features/Vaccine-boycott-spreads-polio-20040211 Vaccine boycott spreads polio]. ''News24''.  2004 February 11.</ref> Four state governments in the predominantly-Muslim part of [[Nigeria]] further increased the hysteria by banning all polio vaccines in 2004.<ref>[http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/07/02/health/main627313.shtml Nigerian Muslims Bar Polio Vaccine]. ''CBS News''. 2009 February 11.</ref><ref>[http://www.irinnews.org/report/48720/nigeria-two-more-northern-states-ban-polio-vaccination Nigeria: Two more northern states ban polio vaccination]</ref> This isn't limited to the developing world; [[Eustace Mullins]] wrote an article claiming the polio vaccine was a [[International Jewish Conspiracy|Jewish plot to mass-poison American children]].<ref>Jeffrey Shallit. [http://www.nizkor.org/ftp.cgi/people/z/zundel.ernst/shallit.report Lies of Our Times].  1996.</ref>

====Aborted fetuses====
An unfounded fear common to anti-[[abortion]] and anti-vaccination [[crank|"activists"]] is that aborted fetuses are being used as ingredients in vaccines or that abortions are necessary to manufacture them. This is a [[bullshit|distortion]] of the fact that the weakened form of the viruses in some vaccines are grown in a culture derived from a cell line taken from fetal tissue. There are no fetal cells in vaccines and the original fetuses were aborted way back in the 1960s.<ref>[http://lizditz.typepad.com/i_speak_of_dreams/2009/11/anti-vaccination-activists-and-extreme-opponents-of-abortion-like-to-use-language-that-gives-the-idea-that-ongoing-abortions.html Lies About Vaccine Ingredients &mdash; The Role of Fetal Cells], I Speak of Dreams</ref>

====Gelatin derived from pigs====
It is true that ''some'' vaccines do contain gelatin derived from [[pig]]s. Some religions object to the consumption of pig as food, most notably [[Judaism]] and [[Islam]].<ref name=iac>[http://www.vaccinesafety.edu/Porcine-vaccineapproval.htm Religious Leaders Approval of Use of Vaccines Containing Porcine Gelatin] ''IAC EXPRESS'' Issue Number 400, July 21, 2003 (Johns Hopkins' Institute for Vaccine Safety).</ref> Both [[Jewish]] and [[Islam]]ic scholars have ruled that the use of vaccines containing pig-derived products is not forbidden. In the case of the Islamic scholars, the gelatin in vaccines is considered sufficiently transformed from pig to not be of concern; in the case of a Jewish scholar, that the vaccines are not given orally was considered to be sufficient for it not to be forbidden.<ref name=iac/>  More importantly however, most religions have particular rules, which state that in matters of life or death, nearly all laws can be broken anyway.<ref group=note>With [[Jehovah's_Witness#Blood_transfusions|some notable exceptions]] — it's the genius of [[oxymoron|religious reasoning]] we're talking about here, after all.</ref>{{efn|In this vein, some Jewish scholars argue that vaccines are not just permissible under Jewish law but ''mandatory''.<ref>[https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2870103/jewish/What-Does-Jewish-Law-Say-About-Vaccination.htm What Does Jewish Law Say About Vaccination?] by Yehuda Shurpin, ''Chabad.org''</ref>}}