The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recently voted to recommend removing thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative, from all flu vaccines.
The committee’s decision, passed with a 5-1 vote, restricts flu vaccines to those free of thimerosal, a mercury-containing compound that has been scrutinized for potential links to autism spectrum disorder and other developmental issues.Thimerosal was largely phased out in 2001, but it remains present in some flu shots. The committee’s ruling mandates that flu vaccines for children 18 and under, as well as pregnant women, must be thimerosal-free.
This decision follows a significant restructuring of the advisory committee, with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dismissing the previous 17 members and appointing a new, smaller panel.
Besides voting to eliminate thimerosal, ACIP also voted to include other immunizations in federal programs.
Now at the helm of the Department of Health and Human Services, Kennedy rattled the establishment medical world in early June when he replaced all 17 ACIP members with a leaner crew of eight, including vaccine skeptics like Dr. Robert Malone and Lyn Redwood, former head of Kennedy’s Children’s Health Defense, an anti-vaccine group.Redwood’s plea to reject thimerosal wasn’t flawless—she overstated its common dosages—but the committee leaned into the mercury-free messaging. “There are other preservatives that don’t rely on mercury,” Dr. Jacob Glanville, CEO of Centivax, told Fox News Digital with a nod of approval.The committee didn’t stop there. They unanimously backed annual flu shots for everyone six months and older who do not have a risk of side effects.The group also gave a 5-2 thumbs-up to Merck’s clesrovimab (Enflonsia), a new Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) prevention drug for infants eight months and younger who were born during or entering their first RSV season. It was also approved for coverage under the Vaccines for Children (VCF) program.
It must be noted that many news reports and pharmacological experts assure us that thimerosol is “safe” and only a small percentage of flu vaccines still contain the compound.
In the recent evidence review published by the CDC, they reiterated that thimerosal is already almost entirely removed from the US vaccine supply. In the 2024 to 2025 influenza season, approximately 96% of all influenza vaccines were thimerosal-free. Additionally, the proportion of pregnant women receiving a thimerosal-containing flu vaccine has decreased over time, with only 0.3% of doses in 2024 containing thimerosal.Patients are empowered to check the ingredients of a vaccine they are receiving for the presence of thimerosal, but can be assured that based on the abundance of meaningful evidence available, it is safe.
However, in the post-COVID era, such assurances aren’t nearly as meaningful. Additionally, one of the panelists, Dr. Robert Malone, points out that mercury-free preservatives are available. So why the drama?
Now, for some reason, the pharmaceutical industry and corporate media see this as some sort of existential threat – that eliminating 3% of the influenza doses that contain thimerosal is a crisis for the entire vaccine industry and their academic and media supporters. I don’t get it, but that seems to be the meme, and the strange thing is that it has left media and pharma arguing in favor of injecting mercury into Americans.
Some critics claim this could lead to greater vaccine hesitancy. Yet, few things have likely done more to erode Americans’ trust in vaccines than the COVID vaccine mandates and the strong messaging around them being “safe and effective.”
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