In The Politics of Autism, I analyze the myth that vaccines cause autism. This bogus idea can hurt people by allowing diseases to spread. Examples include measles, COVID, flu, and polio.
A number of posts discussed Trump's support for the discredited notion.
Another leading anti-vaxxer is Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. He has repeatedly compared vaccine mandates to the Holocaust. Rolling Stone and Salon retracted an RFK article linking vaccines to autism. He is part of the "Disinformation Dozen." He helped cause a deadly 2019 measles outbreak in Samoa.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Tuesday formally rescinded federal recommendations for all flu vaccines containing thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative that the anti-vaccine movement has falsely linked to autism.
The decision cements a move last month by vaccine advisers whom Mr. Kennedy named to the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices after abruptly firing all 17 previous members.
After hearing a presentation by the former leader of an anti-vaccine group, the panel had voted to walk back federal recommendations for all flu vaccines containing thimerosal.
...The thimerosal decision will not affect most Americans seeking flu vaccines: The preservative is added to multidose vials of flu vaccines to prevent bacteria from growing, but it is not an ingredient of the single-dose vials administered to most people.
During the 2024-25 respiratory virus season, only 3 percent of children and 2 percent of older adults received flu vaccines containing thimerosal, according to an analysis of electronic health records by Truveta, a company that analyzes such records.
Still, multidose vials are needed in places where it is difficult to store many vaccines, such as nursing homes or mobile clinics serving remote rural areas.
Mr. Kennedy’s sign-off does not withdraw vaccines containing thimerosal from the market. But his rescinding the federal recommendation means that such shots may not be available to Americans, because insurance companies are no longer required to cover them
