AMA, 79 Medical Societies Back Vaccination

Last week, the newly named vaccine advisory panel voted on Thursday to recommend Americans receive seasonal influenza shots that are free from the mercury-based preservative thimerosal despite decades of studies showing no related safety issues, Reuters reported.

The recommendation was the first for the newly assembled group, appointed by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) after he dismissed the previous panel of 17 well-known experts. As CMM previously reported, some of the new members of the committee raised serious concerns from the public health community for their approach to vaccines and scientific evidence.

Thimerosal was largely removed from most vaccines about 25 years ago, CNN reported. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration asked manufacturers to remove it out of an abundance of caution, not because of evidence of harm, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. All vaccines routinely recommended for young children now are available in doses that don’t have the preservative, which contains a form of mercury.

Some flu vaccines drawn from multidose vials still contain thimerosal to prevent bacterial contamination. Only about 4% of flu vaccines given in the U.S. last year contained thimerosal as a preservative.

Health experts believe the new advisory panel and RFK, who previously led an anti-vaccine group called Children’s Health Defense, want to spread doubt about vaccine safety.

Six members of the seven-person committee voted to continue to recommend that everyone 6 months and older receive an annual flu vaccine. One abstained.

With respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) expected to surge this fall, the American Medical Association (AMA) and 79 leading medical societies reaffirm their support for vaccination as the best way to protect against the flu, COVID-19, and RSV and their potentially serious complications. The organizations call on partners—insurers, hospitals, and public health agencies—to ensure these life-saving vaccines remain available to patients without cost sharing. The open letter from the American Medical Association and medical society partners is available here.

In response to the new vaccine panel, the American Academy of Pediatrics (APP) also issued a video stating the association will continue to use science to develop guidelines to improve the health of all children. For decades, the AAP has published its own childhood immunization schedule based on these guiding principles, and it will continue to do so.