On June 26, 2025, the newly formed CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted 6–0 (with one abstention) to reaffirm its recommendation for annual influenza vaccination for everyone aged 6 months and older without contraindications:
In a separate set of three consecutive 5–1 votes (with one abstention each time), ACIP recommended that children, pregnant women, and adults should receive only thimerosal-free single-dose influenza vaccines:
Thimerosal is a mercury-based preservative that is extraordinarily toxic. A comprehensive review by Geier et al concluded:
The culmination of the research that examines the effects of Thimerosal in humans indicates that it is a poison at minute levels with a plethora of deleterious consequences, even at the levels currently administered in vaccines.
While this recommendation marks a long-overdue shift, its practical impact is limited. Thimerosal was taken out of childhood vaccines in 2001 and only a small portion of flu vaccines still contain thimerosal.
The real problem is that ACIP is continuing to recommend annual flu shots for nearly the entire population, despite new data suggesting these vaccines actually increase the risk of illness.
Those who received the flu shot were 27% more likely to contract influenza compared to those who remained unvaccinated (Hazard Ratio = 1.27; P = 0.007)
Estimated vaccine effectiveness was –26.9%, indicating more illness among the vaccinated group
This aligns with prior research, including a randomized controlled trial by Cowling et al, published in Clinical Infectious Diseases, which found that children who received the inactivated flu vaccine had a 4.4-fold (or 340%) increased risk of virologically confirmed non-influenza respiratory virus infections, such as rhinoviruses, coxsackie/echoviruses, and coronaviruses.
Removing thimerosal is a long-overdue move. But recommending annual flu shots with negative effectiveness and increased susceptibility to other viral infections is not evidence-based. It’s time to reevaluate the entire policy.
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