RFK Jr. to remove controversial ingredient from all flu vaccines in the US

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. signed a controversial recommendation July 23 fromHealth Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. signed a controversial recommendation July 23 from a vaccine panel that advised removing thimerosal from all influenza vaccines. Thimerosal is a preservative that has largely been phased out of U.S. vaccines and has long been targeted by anti-vaccine advocates despite broad scientific consensus on its safety.The call against thimerosal was first presented by Lyn Redwood, former leader of Children's Health Defense, an anti-vaccine group founded by Kennedy, during a June 26 meeting for the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. During the meeting, ACIP members voted against recommending certain vaccines to contain thimerosal, despite widespread disapproval from the medical community.After more than two decades of delay, this action fulfills a long-overdue promise to protect our most vulnerable populations from unnecessary mercury exposure,” Kennedy said in a statement.