(Reuters) -The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in a report said that evidence does not support a link between thimerosal-containing vaccines and autism, ahead of a two-day meeting of experts scheduled for later this week.
The report, along with the meeting’s final agenda and other documents, was posted on the agency’s website on Tuesday.
Lyn Redwood, a former leader of anti-vaccine group Children’s Health Defense, is set to make a presentation on flu vaccines containing the preservative thimerosal at the meeting on Thursday.
Thimerosal has long been used in the United States in vials of medicines and vaccines that contain more than one dose, according to the CDC. It is added to some vaccines to prevent germs, such as bacteria and fungi, from growing in them.
The report posted on Tuesday reviewed existing evidence on thimerosal-containing vaccines and neurodevelopmental outcomes.
During the 2024-2025 season, 96% of all influenza vaccines in the United States were thimerosal free, according to the report.
(Reporting by Christy Santhosh and Bhanvi Satija in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila, Shailesh Kuber and Shinjini Ganguli)
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