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The Big Story

Vaccine advisers to review ingredient RFK Jr wants banned

Coming next week: The first meeting of RFK Jr.’s handpicked vaccine advisory panel.

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

As part of its scaled-down two-day meeting beginning Wednesday, the committee is set to vote on influenza vaccines that contain thimerosal — an ingredient wrongly linked to autism.

Kennedy has long advocated for banning thimerosal, a preservative that was widely used for decades in a number of biological and drug products, including many vaccines. In his 2014 book, Kennedy said thimerosal was “toxic to brain tissue” and likely caused autism.

Thimerosal, a compound that contains mercury, is used as a preservative to prevent harmful bacteria in multidose vials of vaccines. The compound has been largely phased out as manufacturers have shifted toward single-use vials that contain little or no thimerosal, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Thimerosal was largely removed from pediatric vaccines by 2001, amid concerns that it could be linked to autism in children. But according to 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.”

The draft agenda for next week’s ACIP meeting revisits issues that scientists and public health experts have long considered to be settled, including the use of the measles mumps, rubella and varicella vaccine in children under 5 years old.

It’s unclear yet what the panel will discuss regarding the shot.

The current CDC childhood vaccine schedule recommends two doses for children, with the first dose at age 12-15 months and the second at age 4-6 years. CDC suggests that the MMR vaccine be given rather than MMRV for the first dose, but both shots have been on the schedule for decades.

Welcome to The Hill’s Health Care newsletter, we’re Nathaniel Weixel, Joseph Choi and Alejandra O’Connell-Domenech — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health.

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New COVID-19 variant causes ‘razor blade throat’

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ChatGPT use linked to cognitive decline: MIT research

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BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Two federal agencies cannot punish Catholic employers and health care providers if they refuse for religious reasons to provide gender-affirming care to transgender patients or won’t provide health insurance coverage for such care to their workers, a federal judge ruled Thursday. The ruling from U.S. District …

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A MESSAGE FROM ALLIANCE FOR AGING RESEARCH

Around the Nation

Local and state headlines on health care:

United Healthcare, Memorial Sloan Kettering set to take contract squabbles to mediation (CBS)
New Jersey stands to lose $19b in health care spending from Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill” (Bergen Record)
Democratic states expanded healthcare to undocumented immigrants. Now they’re rolling it back. (Wall Street Journal)

What We’re Reading

Health news we’ve flagged from other outlets:

Marijuana’s links to heart attack and stroke are becoming clearer (The New York Times)
Why is caregiving so hard in America? The answers emerge in a new film (NPR)
Why MAHA wants whole milk back on the table (Stat)

What Others are Reading

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Senate parliamentarian knocks pieces out of Trump’s megabill

Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough has ruled that several key pieces of the massive bill to implement President Trump’s agenda run afoul of … Read more

Supreme Court rules against FDA, EPA

12:30 Report is The Hill’s midday newsletter. Subscribe here or using the box below: Close Thank you for signing up! Subscribe to more newsletters … Read more

What People Think

Opinions related to health submitted to The Hill:

You’re all caught up. See you next week!

Health Care

Health Care

Vaccine advisers to review ingredient RFK Jr wants banned

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