RFK Jr.’s vaccine panel votes against thimerosal flu shots

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A revamped government panel of vaccine advisors with newly appointed immunization skeptics has voted against a mercury-containing shot ingredient that the anti-vaccine movement has long targeted.

The group, called the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, voted Thursday to recommend annual single-dose flu vaccines to Americans and against influenza shots containing thimerosal – despite the fact that there is no such thing as a evidence of harm from that preservative. It was the primary ACIP meeting since Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. gutted the panel and stacked it with latest members, including several well-known vaccine skeptics. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still must log out on that suggestion. If the agency does, it could affect roughly 4% to five% of the U.S. flu vaccine supply. 

The remainder of the nation’s flu shots were thimerosal-free throughout the last season of the virus, based on CDC data. But relating to vaccinating a whole country, “small percentages matter,” Dr. Sean O’Leary, an infectious disease expert with the American Academy of Pediatrics, told reporters last week. 

If the few thimerosal-containing flu shots were faraway from the market, 

“that might inevitably result in fewer people being vaccinated, at the very least within the short term, perhaps long run, and subsequently more hospitalizations and deaths,” O’Leary said. 

The suggestion also reinforces longstanding, unfounded fears that the substance can result in developmental disabilities, resembling autism. Kennedy’s vaccine skepticism comes full circle with the panel’s vote: A decade before moving into his current role, he published a book that called for the removal of thimerosal from shots and linked it to developmental disorders. 

“A quite common anti-vaccine talking point is around thimerosal, in order that’s a really clear technique to sow distrust in vaccines,” O’Leary said. 

Here’s why thimerosal is significant. It has been widely used for a long time as a preservative to stop the expansion of harmful bacteria in several medicines and vaccines with multiple doses. Greater than 40 studies over many a long time have found no link between thimerosal and developmental delays.

But its use in approved vaccines has dropped sharply as manufacturers have shifted to single-dose packaging for his or her shots, which does not require preservatives. The Food and Drug Administration around 25 years ago asked manufacturers to remove the substance from childhood vaccines out of an abundance of caution, not due to evidence of harm, based on the CDC. 

“The thought was, well, mercury is a scary sounding word, and let’s just get it out, let’s just make this a non-issue,” O’Learly said. He added that “many studies have shown that it’s entirely secure, isn’t related to any neurodevelopmental disorders or some other adversarial effects.”

Some multi-dose types of flu vaccines for adults still contain thimerosal, including Sanofi’s Fluzone and two shots from biotech company CSL Seqirus. 

One member of the panel, Dr. Cody Meissner, a professor of pediatrics on the Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine, said he was frightened that discouraging using multidose vials could increase the associated fee of vaccination and limit access for some groups. He also expressed concerns concerning the message the suggestion would send to other countries where using multi-dose flu vaccines is more common.

“Which may limit the supply of the influenza vaccine for some people,” he said throughout the meeting after he voted against restricting thimerosal flu vaccines. 

Before the votes on the meeting, Lyn Redwood, a nurse practitioner who has been involved with anti-vaccine organizations, presented on thimerosal in flu vaccines. Redwood is among the many “mercury mothers” who pushed for Kennedy to get entangled with mercury and youngsters’s health. She has also served for years as president of Kid’s Health Defense, the anti-vaccine organization founded by Kennedy.

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Health-care data platform Arcadia has been acquired by the private equity firm Nordic Capital, the businesses announced on Tuesday. 

Arcadia turns health-care data into predictive insights that payers and providers can use to assist improve look after patients, reduce costs and increase revenue. The corporate characterised the cope with Nordic Capital as a “strategic partnership” where the firm will grow to be the “majority owner” of Arcadia, based on a release. 

Michael Meucci, Arcadia’s CEO, said working with Nordic Capital will allow Arcadia to proceed to enhance its customer experience, expand on its artificial intelligence capabilities, explore latest M&A opportunities and drive growth in its core segments, including value-based care. 

“It’s hugely validating,” Meucci told CNBC in an interview. “It’s validating that there are large-cap institutional investors who’re as committed to reworking us (U.S.?) health care and global health care as we have now been.”  

Arcadia and Nordic Capital didn’t disclose the terms of the acquisition. The deal is anticipated to shut within the second half of the 12 months, though it’s still subject to regulatory approvals. 

Meucci said he’s known the Nordic Capital team for a pair years, and that the firm had been watching Arcadia’s progress as a business. Arcadia is profitable and carried out a successful acquisition last 12 months. Meucci said these milestones helped Nordic Capital feel confident that the corporate was ready for its next stage of growth. 

Arcadia last raised outside funding in 2023, when it announced $125 million in financing from Vista Credit Partners. Nordic Capital’s acquisition serves as an exit for earlier investors, Arcadia said.

“This partnership aligns seamlessly with Nordic Capital’s investment strategy and Nordic Capital is worked up to support Arcadia in its next phase of growth,” Daniel Berglund, partner and co-head of health care at Nordic Capital, said in an announcement.

TripleTree served as Nordic Capital’s financial advisor for the transaction, and Lazard advised Arcadia.

“That is just an additional reinforcement of our mission, that we have now to alter the associated fee of health care,” Meucci said. 

Read the complete release here.

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