Overview

• Robert F. Kennedy Jr. hired Lyn Redwood, former president of Children’s Health Defense, as a special government employee in the CDC’s vaccine safety office, according to agency officials.
• Redwood is scheduled to present to the revamped Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices on her concerns about thimerosal causing autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders, citing misleading data including a study that does not exist.
• Decades of epidemiological research and official reviews by the CDC and the Institute of Medicine have found no evidence of a causal link between thimerosal-containing vaccines and autism spectrum disorder.
• Health experts such as former CDC adviser Fiona Havers warn that Redwood’s role poses a conflict of interest and could undermine public trust in official vaccine safety messaging.
• Pediatric specialists caution that restricting or removing thimerosal from the remaining flu vaccines might reduce supply, lower vaccination rates and lead to higher flu-related hospitalizations.