Summary
A U.S. committee advising on vaccine policies recommended that flu vaccines for children and adults should not contain thimerosal, a preservative rarely used today. The discussion took place after the committee was restructured by RFK Jr., who replaced existing members with his own choices, some of whom have been known to make inaccurate claims about vaccine safety.
Key Facts
- The committee advising on U.S. vaccine policies is called the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).
- Thimerosal is a preservative that contains mercury and is sometimes added to vaccines but is rarely used now.
- The committee recommended that flu vaccines should not contain thimerosal.
- The belief that thimerosal causes autism in children has been disproven, and it is not found in any vaccines on the current U.S. pediatric schedule.
- The ACIP voted for continuing the general flu vaccine recommendation for those over six months old.
- RFK Jr. recently replaced the entire previous committee with new members, decreasing the number from 17 to 7.
- The committee also supported a monoclonal antibody shot for preventing RSV in infants under 8 months.
