A new vaccine advisory panel appointed by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is set to vote next week on recommendations regarding thimerosal, a flu vaccine preservative long—and falsely—tied to autism.
The upcoming meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) marks its first since Kennedy fired all 17 members and installed eight new ones, several of whom are vaccine skeptics. The pared-down agenda excludes votes on COVID-19, HPV, and meningococcal vaccines but retains a focus on thimerosal-containing flu vaccines and use of the measles vaccine in children under five.
Kennedy has long argued that thimerosal is harmful, writing in 2014 that it is “toxic to brain tissue” and potentially linked to autism. However, major health bodies including the CDC and FDA maintain that “a robust body of peer-reviewed scientific studies” has found no evidence supporting that link. Autism rates continued to rise after thimerosal was removed from most childhood vaccines in 2001.
Thimerosal remains in only three adult flu vaccines today. The panel’s recommendations could influence insurance coverage and public confidence in long-standing vaccine practices.
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