A key vaccine advisory panel handpicked by Well being and Human Providers Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is ready to vote on a vaccine ingredient wrongly linked to autism as a part of its scaled-down two-day assembly subsequent week. 

It’s the primary assembly of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) since Kennedy fired all 17 members and appointed eight new panelists, a number of of whom are vocal vaccine critics.  

The draft agenda for subsequent week’s ACIP assembly revisits points that scientists and public well being consultants have lengthy thought-about to be settled, together with the usage of the measles vaccine in kids below 5 years outdated. 

ACIP is an influential panel that recommends which vaccines go on the childhood and grownup schedules after reviewing security knowledge. If ACIP endorses a vaccine, insurers should cowl it. 

The committee can even vote on suggestions concerning “thimerosal containing” influenza vaccines.  

Kennedy has lengthy advocated for banning thimerosal, a preservative that was broadly used for many years in quite a few organic and drug merchandise, together with many vaccines. In his 2014 ebook, Kennedy stated thimerosal was “toxic to brain tissue” and sure prompted autism. 

Thimerosal, a compound that comprises mercury, is used as a preservative to stop dangerous micro organism in multidose vials of vaccines. The compound has been largely phased out as producers have shifted towards single-use vials that comprise little or no thimerosal, in response to the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention (CDC). 

Thimerosal was largely faraway from pediatric vaccines by 2001, amid issues that it could possibly be linked to autism in kids. However quite a few research have disproved such a hyperlink. 

Based on the CDC, “a robust body of peer-reviewed scientific studies conducted in the U.S. and other countries support the safety of thimerosal-containing vaccines.” 

“Even after thimerosal was removed from almost all childhood vaccines, autism rates continued to increase, which is the opposite of what would be expected if thimerosal caused autism,” CDC says on its web site. 

Thimerosal is at the moment utilized in three flu vaccines for adults offered by Sanofi and CSL Seqirus, in response to the Meals and Drug Administration.  

It’s unclear but what the panel will focus on concerning the measles, mumps, rubella and varicella vaccines (MMRV).  

The present CDC childhood vaccine schedule recommends two doses for kids, with the primary dose at age 12-15 months and the second at age 4-6 years. CDC means that the MMR vaccine be given relatively than MMRV for the primary dose, however each pictures have been on the schedule for many years.  

The present agenda is pared down from what was beforehand on the schedule. The panel is not scheduled to vote on suggestions associated to COVID-19 vaccines, in addition to HPV and meningococcal vaccines. 

Final month, Kennedy modified CDC’s COVID-19 vaccine suggestion with out the panel voting on it.