University of California, Davis

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s revamped Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory committee on vaccines has recommended against the use of flu shots that contain the preservative thimerosal. Anti-vaccine activists have claimed the preservative can cause autism despite multiple studies that have reached the opposite conclusion. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s revamped Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has struck its first blow against established vaccine practice, recommending against the use of flu shots that contain a preservative that has been used in shots for decades.While the proposed recommendation affects only a small percentage of flu shots supplied in the U.S., it signals the willingness of the committee to buy into unsubstantiated claims surrounding the negative effects of vaccines. The director of the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) typically signs off on ACIP recommendations, but that position is currently unfilled.The move likely raises alarm bells for those concerned about the influence wielded by RFK Jr., the new secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), who has long been an anti-vaccine activist. Earlier this month, RFK Jr. dismissed all 17 members of the ACIP and replaced them with a group of eight advisors, including one who has already stepped down, and others who have expressed their anti-vaccine views.As for Thursday’s action, the panel came down hard on flu vaccines that contain thimerosal, which is used in multidose vials to prevent contamination after one dose has been drawn. Thimerosal contains trace amounts of mercury. Anti-vaccine activists have claimed that the preservative can cause autism, though multiple studies, including one by the CDC in 2010, have shown that there is no link.Tracy Beth Hoeg, M.D., Ph.D., of the FDA told the committee that fewer than 5% of the flu vaccines administered in the 2024-25 season contained thimerosal.Thursday, the ACIP heard a presentation from Lyn Redwood, former president of the anti-vaccine organization Children’s Health Defense, who cited a 2008 University of California, Davis study that can’t be found in public literature. Redwood claimed the study establishes a link between the preservative and the neuroimmune effects that cause autism. A purported author named in the work has distanced himself from any of Redwood's conclusions.Later Thursday afternoon, the committee supported a move to recommend flu vaccines are provided only in single-dose vials that are free of thimerosal. The only member of the panel who voted against the measure was Cody Meissner, M.D., of Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine.“The risk from influenza is so much greater than the non-existent—as far as we know—risk from thimerosal,” Meissner said. “I would hate for a person not to receive the influenza vaccine because the only available preparation contains thimerosal. I find that very hard to justify.”Another member of the committee, Vicky Pebsworth, Ph.D., abstained from voting because of the way the voting questions were posed.“We should not be doing anything that restricts access to vaccines of any sort, especially those that are already approved by the FDA and that are already in the schedule,” Pebsworth said.The ACIP also voted unanimously to reaffirm its recommendation for routine annual influenza vaccination of everyone ages 6 months and older. After the meeting, the Partnership to Fight Infectious Disease called on RFK Jr. to restore the original ACIP committee and to include the FDA more comprehensively in its process.

WASHINGTON, June 26, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Association for Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine (ADLM, formerly AACC) is pleased to announce that Stanley F. Lo, PhD, DABCC, FADLM, has been elected to serve on the ADLM board of directors as president-elect starting in August 2025. Following this, he will serve successive terms as the association's president from August 2026-July 2027 and as past president from August 2027-July 2028. In addition, the ADLM membership elected a new treasurer and two new directors to the association's board. They will take office in August 2025 along with the incoming president of the Academy of Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine and the incoming chair of the ADLM Clinical Laboratory Scientists Council, both of whom will also serve on the board. "I am honored that ADLM's membership has chosen me to serve as president-elect of the association," said Dr. Lo. "This is an exciting time for the organization and for the field. As advances in areas such as data science continue to transform laboratory medicine, it's more important than ever that lab professionals have the resources they need to stay current on the latest research and best practices in the field. I look forward to working with ADLM's board, staff, and membership to offer essential content and opportunities for collaboration so that our members can continue to do what they do best: provide clinicians with vital insights so that patients get the care they need." Dr. Lo is a professor of pathology at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee and associate director of the clinical laboratories at Children's Wisconsin. An ADLM member since 1994, he has served the association in numerous local and national capacities, including as president of the Academy of Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine and as chair of the ADLM Pediatric & Maternal-Fetal Division. He has also held positions on ADLM's Division Program Implementation Task Force, which recently updated ADLM's scientific divisions portfolio; ADLM's Branding Transition Task Force, which played an integral role in ADLM's recent name change; the 2004, 2009, and 2017 organizing committees for the ADLM Annual Meeting; the ADLM Nominating Committee; ADLM Awards Committee; and ADLM Education Core Committee. ADLM TREASURER Frederick Strathmann, MS, MBA, PhD, DABCC, will serve as ADLM treasurer from August 2025 to July 2028. He is senior vice president of global business at MOBILion Systems, a company focused on next-generation ion mobility technologies. Prior to taking this position at MOBILion, he held a broad range of leadership roles in the field of laboratory medicine, spanning academic, clinical, and industry settings. He has served in numerous roles within ADLM and is the current chair of the ADLM Innovation & Technology Division and of the ADLM Penn-Del Local Section. ADLM BOARD MEMBERS Nam Tran, PhD, MS, MAS, HCLD (ABB), CLS, MLS (ASCP)CM, FADLM, and Melanie Yarbrough, PhD, will serve as members of ADLM's board of directors from August 2025-July 2028. Zhen Zhao, PhD, DABCC, FADLM, will also serve on the board from August 2025-July 2026 as president of the Academy of Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine, the association's home for distinguished laboratory experts who shape science in the field. Additionally, Michelle Steiner, MS, MLS (ASCP)CM, CHT (ACHI), will serve on the board from August 2025-July 2026 as chair of the Clinical Laboratory Scientists Council, which guides ADLM's activities and programs to address the professional needs of ADLM's clinical laboratory scientist members. Dr. Tran is a professor and senior director of clinical pathology at University of California (UC) - Davis Health. He directs the UC Davis biorepository, which is accredited by the College of American Pathologists (CAP), and he also co-founded and directs the UC Davis Center for Diagnostic Innovation, which operates a CAP-accredited lab supporting novel diagnostics and industry research. A longtime ADLM member, Dr. Tran chairs the association's Point-of-Care Testing Division and serves on the editorial board of ADLM's The Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine. Dr. Yarbrough is an associate professor in pathology and immunology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and section head of clinical microbiology in the university's division of laboratory and genomic medicine. She is also a medical director of the clinical microbiology laboratory at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. She currently serves as an associate editor of ADLM's The Journal of Applied Laboratory Medicine and as a member of the association's Education Core Committee. ADLM NOMINATING COMMITTEE ADLM's membership has also elected Steven Cotten, PhD, DABCC; Mark Marzinke, PhD, DABCC, FADLM; and Maria Willrich, PhD, to serve from August 2025-July 2028 on the association's nominating committee. The ADLM nominating committee carries out the important task of ensuring that the association's leadership comprises a diverse and highly talented group of individuals who represent the full breadth of ADLM's membership. Dr. Cotten is an associate professor in the department of pathology and laboratory medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Marzinke is a professor of pathology and medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, the director of main chemistry within the Johns Hopkins Hospital core laboratories, and the director of the clinical pharmacology analytical laboratory within the division of clinical pharmacology. Additionally, he is co-principal investigator of the HIV Prevention Trials Network Laboratory Center and director of the clinical laboratory core for the Johns Hopkins Center for AIDS Research. Dr. Willrich is an associate professor of laboratory medicine and pathology at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, Minnesota and serves as co-director of the protein and antibody immunology laboratories at Mayo's clinical mass spectrometry laboratory. She is also the program director for the post-doctoral clinical chemistry fellowship program in the department of laboratory medicine and pathology at Mayo Clinic. About the Association for Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine (ADLM) Dedicated to achieving better health for all through laboratory medicine, ADLM (formerly AACC) unites more than 70,000 clinical laboratory professionals, physicians, research scientists, and business leaders from 110 countries around the world. Our community is at the forefront of laboratory medicine's diverse subdisciplines, including clinical chemistry, molecular diagnostics, mass spectrometry, clinical microbiology, and data science, and is comprised of individuals holding the spectrum of lab-related professional degrees, certifications, and credentials. Since 1948, ADLM has championed the advancement of laboratory medicine by fostering scientific collaboration, knowledge sharing, and the development of innovative solutions that enhance health outcomes. For more information, visit . Christine DeLong ADLM Director, Editorial and Media Relations (p) 202.835.8722 [email protected] Bill Malone ADLM Senior Director, Strategic Communications (p) 202.835.8756 [email protected] SOURCE Association for Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine (ADLM) WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM? 440k+ Newsrooms & Influencers 9k+ Digital Media Outlets 270k+ Journalists Opted In GET STARTED

While some presentations at this week's ACIP meeting appear to be business-as-usual, others seem to regurgitate settled safety topics around flu shots and the combination measles, mumps, rubella and varicella vaccine. With controversial presentation topics on the docket and the already abbreviated panel suddenly down one member, this week’s meeting of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is shaping up to be a long, strange two days.In opening Wednesday’s meeting, newly appointed ACIP chair Martin Kulldorff, Ph.D., leaned into the controversy surrounding U.S. vaccine policy following the COVID-19 pandemic and, more recently, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s ascension to the top of HHS.“Some media outlets have been very harsh on the new members of this committee, issuing false accusations and making concerted efforts to put scientists in either a pro- or anti-vaccine box,” Kulldorff explained. “Such labels undermine critical scientific inquiry, and it further feeds the flames of vaccine hesitancy.”He highlighted the need for ACIP and other appendages of the federal health apparatus to rebuild public trust and confidence, which he argued has reached an “all-time low” following the alleged mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic.“If you think that all vaccines are safe and effective and want them all, or if you think that all vaccines are dangerous and don’t want any of them, then you don’t have much use for us,” Kulldorff said. “But if you wish to know which vaccines are suitable for you and your children and at what ages, then we will provide you with evidence-based recommendations.”He stressed that Kennedy “has given this committee a clear mandate to use evidence-based medicine when making vaccine recommendations, and that is what we will do.”However, while some presentations of the two-day meeting appear to be business-as-usual, others seem to regurgitate “long-settled safety topics” around the mercury-containing flu vaccine preservative thimerosal and the combination measles, mumps, rubella and varicella (MMRV) shot, Richard Hughes IV, a health lawyer at Epstein Becker Green, wrote in an emailed preview of the event.One of the presentations (PDF) targeting thimerosal—slated for Thursday—originally cited a study of dubious provenance, with one of the study’s listed co-authors denying that the data reflect his work, according to Reuters. Since the initial release of presentation materials on Tuesday, the CDC has since uploaded a new version of the presentation that removes the study citation, the news service reports.  Meanwhile, several sections on the docket, including the deliberations around COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines, “appear rushed or procedurally incomplete,” Hughes said.  The issue could stem from a pause in work group meetings after Kennedy abruptly fired all 17 of ACIP’s sitting members earlier this month, he added.Kennedy quickly slotted in eight picks of his own for the panel. However, in another unexpected turn for this week’s meeting, one of the new appointees—Michael Ross, M.D.—has withdrawn from the vaccine advisory group, The New York Times first reported Tuesday.“Dr. Michael Ross decided to withdraw from ACIP during the financial holdings review required of members before they can start work on the committee,” an HHS spokesperson told Fierce Pharma. “The sacrifice to serve on ACIP varies from member to member, and we appreciate Dr. Ross’s willingness to go through this rigorous process,” he said, adding that the panel would have benefited from Ross’ service and expertise.Ross, who previously served on the CDC’s Advisory Committee for the Prevention of Breast and Cervical Cancer, is no longer listed among the voting ACIP members on the CDC’s website. Packed agendaOver the next two days, ACIP is slated to review the safety and effectiveness of vaccines for COVID-19, RSV, influenza, chikungunya, anthrax and MMRV. The panel will only vote on recommendations for maternal and pediatric RSV vaccines and flu shots.Given the lack of a vote on the COVID vaccine issue, recent limitations to CDC immunization policies for healthy kids and pregnant people are “unlikely to change,” said health lawyer Hughes. Although the planned presentations on COVID vaccines outline evidence of the shots’ benefits, the data are “juxtaposed with adverse events slides … which could be used to validate the recent policy change,” he explained.Safety concerns will factor into the panel’s vote on material and pediatric RSV immunizations, too, with Hughes pointing out that presentation slides highlighting pregnancy-related safety signals could be used by the new ACIP members “as a justification for recommendation change at this meeting or in the future.”The same issue is also at play in the reviews of chikungunya and MMRV vaccines, with the latter shot subject to scrutiny over a potential increased risk of febrile seizures following an initial dose in kids between the ages of 12 and 23 months.Although the overall evidence being presented on MMRV vaccines “affirms a favorable safety profile,” the presentation also “elevates older studies showing a modest seizure risk in infants” who received the quadruple combination shot over a measles, mumps and rubella vaccine and a separate varicella shot, Hughes said. Targeting thimerosalIt is Thursday’s review of influenza vaccines, however, that is likely to prove the most controversial during the two-day ACIP meeting. The agenda starts out relatively par for the course, with Sanofi planning to present immunogenicity and safety data for a recombinant flu shot in kids, followed by a separate presentation on the 2024-25 flu season and proposed recommendations.However, the panel is then slated to review data on thimerosal—a mercury-containing preservative used in certain adult flu vaccines—which has been inaccurately linked to the development of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The ingredient was removed from most childhood vaccines in the early 2000s and there is little evidence to suggest it poses safety concerns, Bloomberg News noted in a report last week.To hear Hughes tell it, the thimerosal data—which are being presented by former Children’s Health Defense president Lyn Redwood—lean “heavily on outdated or misrepresented evidence … to argue that thimerosal is unsafe and ineffective.” Children’s Health Defense, whose stated mission revolves around “ending childhood health epidemics by eliminating toxic exposure,” was founded by Kennedy. As of early Wednesday morning, the presentation material list for this week’s ACIP meeting also included a separate CDC background document that Hughes noted “directly refutes many of the claims related to thimerosal and neurodevelopmental disorders including autism.” But by about 11:00 a.m. ET on Wednesday, the document was not clickable on the CDC’s meeting materials page.Adding to the controversy, Redwood’s original presentation appeared to cite a study that doesn’t exist, according to Reuters. The study, dubbed "Low-level neonatal thimerosal exposure: Long-term consequences in the brain,” was published in the journal Neurotoxicology in 2008 with a co-author credit from University of California, Davis, professor emeritus Robert Berman, according to the original ACIP meeting materials issued Tuesday.But Berman told Reuters emphatically that the presentation is “not making reference to a study I published or carried out,” explaining that he co-authored a similarly named study in a different journal that came to different conclusions than the ones Redwood aimed to present.Berman added that he does “not endorse this misrepresentation of the research," according to Reuters.The slide citing the Berman study is no longer listed in the ACIP meeting materials, Reuters pointed out.In his opening remarks, ACIP chair Kulldorff argued that opposing potentially dangerous ingredients doesn’t make someone inherently opposed to immunizations.“As Secretary Kennedy has eloquently stated, opposing mercury in fish does not make you anti-fish, and opposing mercury in vaccines does not make you anti-vaccine,” he said, echoing the HHS chief.Kulldorff likened vaccine safety to that of airlines, noting that if one airline ignores safety concerns and crashes, there is a knock-on effect for other companies.“The same is true for vaccines,” he said. “When there are unexpected adverse reactions concerning the safety of one vaccine, that affects all other vaccines, reducing vaccine uptake and coverage.” Doctors, lawmakers and scientists reactAmid the vaccine scrutiny taking place this week, the American Medical Association (AMA) and 78 medical societies voiced their support for immunizations on Wednesday as “the best way to protect against the flu, COVID-19, and RSV and their potentially serious complications.”“Recent changes to federal immunization review processes raised concerns across the medical and public health community,” the letter states. “In this moment of uncertainty, physicians must align around clear, evidence-based guidance for patients.” Since Kennedy’s dismissal of the prior ACIP roster, the 17 ousted members have themselves struck back against the decision, penning a recent JAMA editorial that argued Kennedy’s “destabilizing” decision to purge to committee “may roll back the achievements of U.S. immunization policy, impact people’s access to lifesaving vaccines, and ultimately put U.S. families at risk of dangerous and preventable illness.”Meanwhile, earlier this week, Sen. Bill Cassidy, M.D., R-La.—who reportedly pressed Kennedy for promises not to disrupt vaccine policy in exchange for a confirmation vote earlier this year—called for this week’s meeting to be postponed.Cassidy’s concerns came down to the newly appointed ACIP panel, with the Senator arguing that the meeting should be delayed “until the panel is fully staffed with more robust and balanced representation—as required by law—including those with more direct relevant expertise.”