The Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and the Secretary of Education Linda McMahon attend a Make America Healthy Again commission event, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, on May 22, 2025.
Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters
A Government Panel of Key Revampado Vaccine Advisors designated by the Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will soon vote on a preservative of shots that contains mercury, which is used safely in some flu blows but has been incorrectly linked to autism in the past.
The Immunization Practices Advisory Committee, or ACIP, will listen to a presentation on the preservative, called Thimerosal, at a meeting planned on June 26. The panel will also vote on the “vaccine recommendations containing timerosal”, according to an agenda draft for the two -day meeting published on Wednesday.
It is the first panel meeting with the newly appointed members of Kennedy, many of which are critical of well -known vaccines. He called the eight advisers last week after shooting at the 17 members of the committee, which advises the centers for the control and prevention of diseases in vaccine policy.
It is not clear what will be discussed in the presentation or what exactly the panel will vote.
Timerosal has been widely used for decades as a preservative to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria in several medications and vaccines with multiple doses. But its use in approved vaccines has decreased sharply as manufacturers have moved to single dose packaging for their shots, which do not require preservatives.
Some multiple dose forms of adult flu vaccines still contain timerosal, including HealthyFlilica and two shots of the CSL Seqirus biotechnological company. All routine recommended vaccines for children 6 years and younger in the US.
The FDA and other health agencies have emphasized that many well -conducted scientific studies have not found any link between thimerosal and autism, despite the unfounded concerns decades about a potential connection ago.
“The scientific evidence collected in the last more than 20 years shows no evidence of damage, including serious neurological development disorders, of the use of beameries in vaccines,” said the FDA on its website.
The new members of ACIP will play an important role in the configuration of the immunization policy in the US, since the panel reviews the vaccine data and makes recommendations that determine who is eligible for shots and if insurers must cover them, among other efforts. The Committee is also scheduled to review the data and vote on other vaccines, including shots for COVID and RSV, during the two -day meeting.
