CDC PUBLIC HEALTH IMAGE LIBRARY, JAMES GATHANY
Children exposed to perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), chemicals containing fluorine that are used in a variety of everyday products, from non-stick cookware to paper plates and microwave popcorn bags, may not respond as well to vaccinations against diseases such as tetanus. According to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, elevated PFC levels in the blood are associated with a 3-fold greater risk of vaccine failure.
Environmental epidemiologist Philippe Grandjean of the Harvard School of Public Health and his colleagues measured PFC levels in 587 children in Denmark, both while still in utero and at age 5, when the children came in for their booster shots, and age 7. They also measured antibody levels for vaccinated diseases. At that time of their boosters, ...
