RFK Jr. Rescinds Endorsement of Flu Vaccines With Preservative Falsely Linked to Autism

Health|Kennedy Rescinds Endorsements for Some Flu Vaccines

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Tuesday formally rescinded federal recommendations for all flu vaccines containing thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative that the anti-vaccine movement has falsely linked to autism.

The decision cements a move last month by vaccine advisers whom Mr. Kennedy named to the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices after abruptly firing all 17 previous members.

After hearing a presentation by the former leader of an anti-vaccine group, the panel had voted to walk back federal recommendations for all flu vaccines containing thimerosal.

The decision will not affect most Americans seeking flu vaccines: Thimerosal is added to multidose vials of flu vaccines to prevent bacteria from growing, but it is not an ingredient of the single-dose vials administered to most people.

During the 2024-25 respiratory virus season, only 3 percent of children and 2 percent of older adults received flu vaccines containing thimerosal, according to an analysis of electronic health records by Truveta, a company that analyzes such records.

Still, multidose vials are needed in places where it is difficult to store many vaccines, such as nursing homes or mobile clinics serving remote rural areas.

Mr. Kennedy’s sign-off does not withdraw vaccines containing thimerosal from the market. But his rescinding the federal recommendation means that such shots may not be available to Americans, because insurance companies are no longer required to cover them.

“We urge global health authorities to follow this prudent example for the protection of children worldwide,” Mr. Kennedy said in a statement.

Vaccine manufacturers have confirmed that they have the capacity to replace multidose vials containing mercury, ensuring that vaccine supplies for children and adults will “remain uninterrupted,” the Department for Health and Human Services said in a statement.

Federal health officials began removing thimerosal from childhood vaccines about 25 years ago, citing an abundance of caution despite a lack of data supporting safety concerns. Dozens of studies have shown thimerosal to be harmless. But the anti-vaccine community has long falsely maintained that the ingredient can cause neurological problems.

At a meeting of the vaccine advisers last month, Lyn Redwood, a former leader of Children’s Health Defense, the anti-vaccine group founded by Mr. Kennedy, claimed thimerosal was dangerous and toxic to children.

Her presentation incorrectly said the only flu vaccine still containing thimerosal had 50 micrograms per dose, double the actual amount.

The seven new advisers voted 5 to 1, with one abstention, to withdraw recommendations for flu vaccines containing thimerosal for children, pregnant women and other adults.

The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention typically accepts the recommendations of the committee. But the agency does not currently have a leader, so the decision fell to Mr. Kennedy.