Vaccines are the most effective medical intervention ever created by humans. The cost is minimal and the impact is a greatly increased well-being for vast numbers of people. Think of all the avoided medical costs associated with diseases that have been successfully targeted by vaccines such as measles, polio, and smallpox and then you will begin to truly grasp that it yields a vast financial cost saving in addition to all the trauma and pain that has been prevented.
While I have not only previously written the above within earlier postings, I’ve also backed it up with some of the actual data that verifies it all. Tempting as it is to repeat all that, I’ll pass this time and will simply give you a few links to chase up if curiosity beckons within the “Further Reading” section at the bottom. Right now, if you are thinking that the reason I am once again writing means that something new has happened, then yes, you are spot on, something dire has indeed happened, and yes, it involves RFK Jnr.
But of course it does because nothing he ever does is good.
RFK Jnr’s new CDC panel swings into action
As you are perhaps aware, RFK Jnr fired the entire 17 person CDC panel that makes vaccine recommendations, and then promptly proceeded to populate it with a mixture of anti-vaccine cranks and others who have no expertise in this area and so don’t know what the hell they are doing.
What has now happened is that the new panel has held their first meeting and of course proceeded to completely ignore both medical ethics, their actual duty, and the best available science.
This committee, more formally known as APIC is a rather key part of everything. What they recommend becomes part of the CDC vaccine schedule, and so health insurers must cover it. If something gets removed, then the health insurers are no longer obliged to cover it – what they do is a really big deal.
The federally funded Vaccines for Children (VFC) program that gives vaccines to kids who otherwise have no access to vaccines is also very much driven via the CDC vaccine schedule, hence if APIC takes something off the schedule then VFC can’t obtain access to vaccines as discounted prices.
Bottom Line: The APIC has now become an anti-vaccine tool that will very seriously impact access to vaccines.
“But if that is all true then it will take years to unfold” you might quip.
Nope days, just a few days, and this has happened.
RFK Jr’s new vaccine panel votes against preservative in flu shots in shock move
It’s the old and totally bogus anti-vaccine thimerosal trope that they have leaned into. The CDC panel met and voted in favor of restricting thimerosal in seasonal influenza vaccines across all age groups …
“The risk from influenza is so much greater than the nonexistent – as far as we know – risk from thimerosal,” said Dr Cody Meissner, a panel member and professor of pediatrics at Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine who was the lone “no” vote.
“I would hate for a person not to receive the influenza vaccine because the only availability preparation contains thimerosal – I find that very hard to justify.”
Well come now, I did warn you that APIC was now peopled with anti-vaccine cranks, do you believe me now?
Just to be clear about this, their vote against anything containing thimerosal is a vote against the use of the seasonal flu vaccine.
What happened was a complete ambush.
They completely ignored what was on their agenda and did this instead. As noted (way too politely) by some …
“There is a very big difference between what was shared at the meeting versus what is reality,” said Dr Sean O’Leary, chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Infectious Diseases. “The science on thimerosal is settled, and the rhetoric being used to suggest otherwise is misleading and harmful.”
Rather than vote on an agenda that had once included seasonal recommendations for Covid-19 and the vaccine against human papilloma virus (HPV), ACIP added the controversial focus of thimerosal in vaccines.
It is indeed settled because the science has already been very robustly done, so to avoid that coming up they made sure that the actual data was removed and instead they injected into their proceedings some totally bogus and fictitious BS …
Thimerosal is an ethylmercury-based preservative. Ethylmercury is different from the kind of mercury found in seafood, called methylmercury. Ethylmercury has a much shorter half-life in the blood and brain, about seven days and 30 days respectively, compared to methylmercury, which has an approximately 44-58 day half-life and accumulates in the brain. The amount of ethylmercury contained in a flu vaccine (25 micrograms) is about half of that contained in a 3-ounce serving of canned tuna fish (40 micrograms).
Repeated, large studies conducted across several countries have found no association between thimerosal and neurological effects. A presentation from CDC career scientists that was initially expected to go through some of this substantial data was removed before the panel reconvened on Thursday.
In response to a question about the slapped down presentation, ACIP member Dr Robert Malone, a well-known anti-vaccine activist, said: “That article was not authorized by the office of the secretary and was removed.”
The panel instead heard a presentation from Lyn Redwood, a nurse practitioner who founded the World Mercury Project, the predecessor to Kennedy’s anti-vaccine advocacy group Children’s Health Defense. Prior to the meeting, her presentation was found to include a reference to a study that appeared to be made up.
“This is an old issue that has been addressed in the past and there are many issues we could discuss,” said Meissner.
Responding to criticism of Redwood’s presentation, ACIP chair Dr Martin Kulldorff, a former Harvard professor who was fired for refusing the Covid-19 vaccine, said: “It’s inappropriate to dismiss a presentation just because the person does not have a PhD or MD.”
That was a totally bogus rebuttal. The key issue is that the presentation itself was totally bogus and not in any way scientific.
This total BS will not only impact the US, but may indeed impact access to the seasonal flu vaccine on a global scale.
Body Count
Last week I was writing “How many millions will die?“. Within that I compared what is now happening to the rise of pseudoscientific Lysenkoism that led to the death of millions.
Here we are now one week later and this has happened. Do you believe me yet?
290,000 to 650,000 people die of flu-related causes every year worldwide. Now imagine a world where their access to the seasonal flu vaccine is a lot harder. There will be an inevitable rising body count because of this.
This is just the beginning
Where are we now heading?
We are willingly and deliberately putting aside what is the most cost effective and successfully impactful medical intervention ever created so that we can welcome back a world where people will die from very preventable diseases
Multiple science-based commentators are now seriously thinking along these lines …
I fear we’re going to be partying like it’s 1899 again, when few vaccines other than the smallpox vaccines existed and what have long been vaccine-preventable diseases ravaged huge numbers of Americans.
Further Reading
- WHO – Global immunization efforts have saved at least 154 million lives over the past 50 years
- Science Based Medicine (Jun 30) – RFK Jr.’s reconstituted vaccine committee meets for the first time, and I can’t help but think of clowns…antivax clowns
- The Guardian (June 26) – RFK Jr’s new vaccine panel votes against preservative in flu shots in shock move
Quick Summary regarding the use of thimerosal in vaccines
Summary of the Scientific Position
- Thimerosal is a mercury-based preservative that was used in some vaccines (especially multi-dose vials) to prevent bacterial and fungal contamination.
- It contains ethylmercury, which is processed differently in the body than methylmercury (the toxic kind found in some fish).
- Extensive research shows that thimerosal in vaccines is safe and not linked to autism or other neurodevelopmental disorders.
Stance taken by Major Scientific Organizations:
- CDC – No evidence of harm from thimerosal in vaccines; removed from most childhood vaccines in 2001 as a precaution.
- FDA – Concluded thimerosal-containing vaccines are safe; continued monitoring.
- WHO – Supports thimerosal use in multi-dose vials in global vaccination efforts.
- IOM (U.S. Institute of Medicine) – 2004 report found no credible evidence linking thimerosal to autism.
- AAAS, AAP – Support the safety and continued appropriate use of thimerosal in some contexts.
Bottom Line
- Thimerosal was removed or reduced in childhood vaccines in many countries purely as a precautionary measure, not due to any proven harm.
- It is still used safely in some flu vaccines and in global immunization programs, particularly in multi-dose vials where preservatives are necessary.
- Scientific studies over decades consistently show no link between thimerosal and autism or other serious health effects.
If curious to learn more, then the Wikipedia page on it is a good primer.
Tweets
Reactions are all you expect and more. Here are a few samples.
The totally bogus “research” used …
The above does also go on to link to the actual scientific studies.
As you can imagine, lots of anti-vaccine Twitter “experts” are now poping up to tout the bogus claim and also celebrate this victory, and lots of others are quite rightly throwing up their hands in horror regarding it all.
Looking at all the propaganda, it becomes clear that we really do live in the stupidest timeline, one in which a totally bogus fear of the means to prevent disease is far greater than the actual diseases themselves within many minds.
Oh and let’s not forget this gem of “wisdom” recently issued by RFK Jnr … “Stop Trusting the experts” …
Yes, “FFS”, is indeed the correct reaction to that.