Additional Coverage:
- RFK Jr.’s vaccine committee advises Americans not to get flu vaccines based on debunked fears (irishstar.com)
Atlanta – A federal advisory committee has voted to recommend that flu vaccines given to children, pregnant women, and adults should not contain the preservative thimerosal. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) made this recommendation despite the preservative’s proven safety record and rarity of use in current vaccines.
The decision, made during a meeting at CDC headquarters in Atlanta, follows recent restructuring of the committee. The meeting included a presentation on thimerosal by Lyn Redwood, a nurse and former president of Children’s Health Defense. Redwood argued for the removal of the preservative, calling it a “neurotoxin.”
The sole dissenting vote came from Dr. Cody Meissner, a professor of pediatrics at Dartmouth College.
Dr. Meissner downplayed concerns about thimerosal, emphasizing the greater risk posed by influenza itself.
He stated, “The risk from influenza is so much greater than the non-existent, as far as we know, risk from thimerosal. There is no scientific evidence that thimerosal has caused a problem.”
This recommendation could effectively ban the use of thimerosal in flu vaccines, despite scientific consensus confirming its safety and debunking theories linking it to autism. Both the CDC and FDA have publicly stated that studies show no link between vaccines, or their ingredients, and autism spectrum disorder.