Despite the numerous controversies over vaccines that rage in the US–fueled principally by public figures such as current secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.–new research conducted in Denmark has provided solid evidence to disprove his claims and support the safety of childhood vaccines.
Kennedy Jr., who has no medical training at all but has been spreading misinformation about vaccines for years, stated in 2024 during a podcast that aluminum in vaccines would be “extremely neurotoxic.” However, a large-scale study concluded that there is no link between aluminum in vaccines and an increased risk of developing autoimmune diseases, allergies, or autism spectrum disorders.
The study, conducted by researchers from the Statens Serum Institut, an agency of the Danish Ministry of Health specializing in infectious disease prevention, and published in Annals of Internal Medicine, analyzed data from more than 1.2 million people born in Denmark between 1997 and 2018, following them through 2020. Thanks to the accuracy of Danish health records, it was possible to compare children who had received higher doses of vaccine aluminum by age 2 with those who had received fewer doses. The study did not include completely unvaccinated children.
“The results address many of the concerns of parents about vaccine safety,” said Anders Hviid, senior author of the study and professor of epidemiology. “This is evidence that parents can use to make informed decisions about their children’s health.”
Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center and an infectious disease physician at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, also commented on the findings, noting that aluminum is the third most abundant metal on Earth: “We are exposed to it daily through breast milk, air and water. The amounts in vaccines are extremely low and not dangerous.”
The study found no correlation between aluminum levels in childhood vaccines and any of the 50 clinical conditions analyzed.
