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Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Jul 19, 2005
Mercury-Free Vaccines Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to deem a banned mercury-containing vaccine to be adulterated. Amends the Public Health Service Act to provide that a vaccine is a banned mercury-containing vaccine if one dose of the vaccine contains 1 or more micrograms of mercury in any form.
Authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to declare that an actual or potential bioterrorist incident or other public health emergency makes the administration of such vaccines advisable for a specified period.
Requires the Secretary to prohibit the distribution of banned mercury-containing influenza vaccines that are approved as biological products to: (1) any child under the age of three years old (effective July 1, 2006); (2) pregnant women if the vaccine contains thimerosal (effective July 1, 2006); and (3) any child under the age of six (effective July 1, 2007).
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Requires the Secretary to revise the vaccine information included with mercury-containing vaccines to include: (1) a statement that indicates the presence of mercury in the vaccine; (2) information on the availability of any mercury-free or mercury-reduced alternative vaccine and instructions on how to obtain such an alternative vaccine; and (3) a recommendation against administration of any mercury-containing vaccine to a pregnant woman.
Expresses the sense of Congress that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) should disseminate, with any vaccine-related information, a recommendation against administration of any thimerosal-containing vaccine to a pregnant woman.
People & committees
Sen. Hagel, Chuck [R-NE] · R–NE
Legislative record
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
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Source last updated: Aug 15, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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