TEC Brief: Fact check of the June 2025 ACIP meeting (Day 2)
Day two of the newly restructured ACIP committee concluded with discussions on RSV, influenza, and MMRV vaccines, focusing on disease burden, safety, and effectiveness. The meeting was marked by significant procedural irregularities and concerning misinformation. Most notably, the committee voted to remove thimerosal from flu vaccines despite a lack of evidence of harm and decades of safety data, setting a troubling precedent for policy decisions based on hypothetical risks rather than evidence. The meeting featured a controversial presentation by Lyn Redwood that bypassed normal review processes and contained cherry-picked, outdated data with clear anti-vaccine bias. We documented over 50 inaccuracies across both days, with at least 22 occurring today alone, requiring extensive real-time fact-checking. This debrief provides comprehensive fact-checking of claims made, contextualizes discussions within current scientific evidence, and offers guidance for public health leaders and media responding to the meeting's outcomes.