A key committee that influences vaccine policy in the U.S. has suggested that both adults and children should not receive flu vaccines containing trace amounts of a preservative that is seldom used today. This discussion around thimerosal, a mercury-based compound sometimes utilized in vaccines for sterilization, took center stage during a public meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which advises the CDC on vaccination schedules.
The two-day meeting, held at the CDC headquarters in Atlanta, garnered significant attention following Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s recent decision to replace the entire committee with his own selections, which included members known for making inaccurate claims about vaccine safety.
Traditionally, ACIP consists of 17 voting members; however, Kennedy’s revamped panel only had seven due to a last-minute resignation from one member. At the meeting, a majority reaffirmed existing CDC guidelines advocating for an annual flu shot for individuals over six months and also favored a monoclonal antibody treatment by Merck for infants under eight months old, aimed at protecting against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
Nonetheless, the committee voted to recommend single-dose flu vaccines for children, pregnant women, and all adults, explicitly those without thimerosal. While concerns regarding thimerosal’s alleged link to autism have been debunked, manufacturers have voluntarily excluded it from childhood vaccines. It’s noted that while it is still present in some multi-dose vials, none are included in the pediatric vaccine schedule.
The ACIP’s recommendations could effectively prohibit the use of this preservative despite abundant evidence of its safety. Dr. Cody Meissner, a pediatrics professor at Dartmouth College, was the lone member opposing these recommendations.
“Of all the issues that ACIP needs to focus on, this is not a big issue,” he remarked. “The risk from influenza is so much greater than the non-existent, as far as we know, risk from thimerosal,” he added, asserting that there’s no scientific proof indicating that thimerosal causes any problems.
His comments followed a presentation by Lyn Redwood, a nurse and past president of Children’s Health Defense—a group founded and led by Kennedy—who emphasized the importance of removing what she termed a known neurotoxin from vaccines to protect vulnerable populations. However, her claims were somewhat undermined by a CDC document that had been briefly available before the meeting, which found no link between thimerosal exposure in pregnancy and autism in children, only to be removed without explanation prior to the meeting.
In addressing the document’s removal, Dr. Robert Malone, an ACIP member, indicated it may not have been approved by the Secretary’s office. Committee members expressed skepticism about the analyses presented by the CDC, questioning whether data on adverse events was overlooked during the reviews.
While key medical organizations supported the recommendations regarding flu and RSV, they raised concerns about the meeting’s overall atmosphere. Dr. Sean O’Leary, chair of the Committee on Infectious Diseases for the American Academy of Pediatrics, noted that the discussions seemed aimed at fostering distrust in vaccines and the approval processes involved.
Typically, the CDC director would sign off on ACIP recommendations, but with no one currently in that role, those responsibilities have fallen to Health Secretary Kennedy.
