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Exposure to Common Chemicals May Weaken Vaccine Response
from Time
Researchers report that exposure to ubiquitous household chemicals may lower children's responses to vaccines.
The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, suggests that perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), which are commonly used in Teflon coatings in pots and pans as well as in furniture, stain-resistant carpeting, rain gear and microwave popcorn bags, may hinder children's ability to mount proper immune responses after they are vaccinated. The findings suggest that important gains made by immunization programs in the past century may be eroded by the emergence of these environmental chemicals.
In the report, Dr. Philippe Grandjean, chair of environmental medicine at the University of Southern Denmark, and his colleagues studied a group of 587 children born between 1999 to 2001 in the Faroe Islands. The researchers chose that population, located in the north Atlantic, since most residents rely on the sea to survive, and recent studies have recorded increasing amounts of PFCs in the drinking water and fish there.
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