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ACIP recommended on Thursday that Americans should not receive flu vaccines containing the preservative thimerosal. The votes reflected new members’ concerns about safety issues tied to the preservative, despite numerous studies conducted over the past quarter-century that have found no such issues.
In practical terms, the move by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will have little, if any, impact on Americans, as only a small percentage of the flu vaccine that comes to the U.S. market contains thimerosal. About 4% of flu doses here come in multi-dose vials, which contain thimerosal to lower the risk that a vial might become contaminated in the process of withdrawing successive doses. But in broader terms, it serves as a win for Kennedy, a longtime vaccine critic who has shown his anti-vaccine base that he will use his position to deliver on the concerns of that community.
Separately -- the Vaccine Integrity Project (VIP), an organization made up of vaccine experts including former HHS officials, has enlisted broad stakeholder support as it ramps up efforts to create an alternative ecosystem for vaccine recommendations, clinical guidelines and even administration. The group is now working with physicians’ organizations, insurers and state health departments, among others, coming as the insurer lobby AHIP and leading physician lobbies separately signal they will maintain a commitment to vaccine access regardless of ACIP’s actions.
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