Overview
- At a Nov. 17 Food Allergy Fund forum in Washington, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. proposed new government research into whether vaccine aluminum could contribute to food allergies and acknowledged there is no current proof.
- Top health officials — NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, and ARPA-H Director Alicia Jackson — attended the event, signaling potential agency involvement in allergy research.
- The CDC says aluminum salts used in vaccines have been safely employed for decades, citing a 2022 observational analysis that warrants further study, while a 2023 Danish cohort of 1.2 million children found no association between aluminum-adjuvanted vaccines and asthma.
- Peer-reviewed research reports U.S. peanut allergy rates declining since 2017 guidance encouraging early infant introduction of peanut, offering an alternative explanation for recent trends.
- A CDC advisory committee’s draft December agenda includes a discussion of vaccine adjuvants and contaminants following President Donald Trump’s September call to remove aluminum from vaccines.