Vaccines, we’re told, aren’t 100 percent effective. That’s why some of us come down with the flu after getting a flu shot. Sometimes, our immune system doesn’t mount a strong enough response to an immunization, so defenses are down when a pathogen invades.
Now a new Harvard School of Public Health study suggests this may sometimes be due to exposure to certain environmental toxins. The researchers measured levels of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) -- found in food packaging, stain-resistant carpets, and nonstick pans -- in nearly 600 children who lived in the Faroe Islands in the Norwegian Sea and found that those who had the highest levels of PFCs had a 50 percent lower reaction to tetanus and diphtheria vaccines, according to the study published in yesterday’s Journal of the American Medical Association.
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