Aluminium adjuvants and childhood health: a call for science
Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology
Volume 93, February 2026, 127810
Guillemette Crépeaux, Jeremy R. Hammond, Jonathan B. Handley, Brian Hooker, Karl Jablonowski, Lluís Luján, James Lyons-Weiler, Marika Nosten-Bertrand, Christopher A. Shaw, Yehuda Shoenfeld, Lucija Tomljenovic, Christopher Exley
Abstract
In July 2025, Andersson et al. reported in Annals of Internal Medicine that early-life exposure to Aluminium (Al)-adjuvanted vaccines was not associated with increased risk of 50 chronic diseases, based on a Danish cohort of 1.2 million children. While widely cited as reassuring evidence of Al-Based Adjuvant (ABA) safety, closer scrutiny reveals major methodological and conceptual flaws. Specifically, the study demonstrates limited understanding of Al toxicology, weaknesses in cohort design and statistical analysis, and insufficient transparency regarding potential conflicts of interest. We argue that these shortcomings prevent meaningful conclusions about ABA safety, particularly in relation to neurodevelopmental and autoimmune outcomes, and highlight the need for more rigorous, transparent, and scientifically grounded investigations.
