Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has championed this issue for more than two decades, confirmed the action on Saturday, criticizing federal health agencies for allowing a known neurotoxin to be administered to pregnant women and children over the years.
In an elaborate video statement, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. declared that thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative previously used in flu shots for children and pregnant women, has now been completely banned across the United States.
“I’m proud to finally deliver on a long-overdue promise: protecting our most vulnerable from unnecessary mercury exposure,” Kennedy posted on X.
Thimerosal, primarily composed of ethylmercury, had been used for several decades as a preservative in multi-dose vaccine vials. According to Kennedy, the CDC surprisingly continued its use in flu shots given to pregnant women and children, despite significant evidence of its neurotoxic properties.
Kennedy referred to peer-reviewed research and official government records identifying thimerosal as a neurotoxin, carcinogen, mutagen, and reproductive toxicant. “The concentration of ethylmercury in the flu shot that CDC just outlawed under my directive is 25,000 times greater than the EPA’s safety standard for drinking water,” he stated.
Kennedy also criticized federal agencies, accusing them of ignoring the scientific evidence for decades. He highlighted a 2001 admission by FDA official William Egan, who testified under oath before Congress that thimerosal’s safety had never been assessed in humans.
A later study discovered that this highly toxic form of mercury lingers in the brain for over 27 years. Kennedy referenced a CDC-funded 2017 study associating flu vaccinations during pregnancy with miscarriage, indicating that the odds of miscarriage within 28 days were 7.7 times higher for women who received the vaccine. He also alluded to a 2017 study published in JAMA that identified a heightened risk of autism spectrum disorders in children whose mothers received a flu shot in the first trimester.
“Why were we injecting this toxin into babies and pregnant women?” Kennedy asked. “Federal and state laws classify expired thimerosal vaccines as hazardous waste. Yet they were good enough to put into your bloodstream?”
Despite intense pressure and smears from the pharmaceutical industry and its media allies—many of whom labeled him an “anti-vaxxer”—Kennedy never backed down. “I’ve spent 20 years trying to get mercury out of vaccines,” he declared. “I spent four years trying to get mercury out of fish, and nobody called me anti-fish.”
Kennedy framed the decision as the beginning of a reform movement to restore public trust in federal health agencies, crediting President Trump’s leadership in “remaking FDA and CDC” into watchdogs for the people.
The newly adopted CDC recommendation, approved in June and formally enacted last week, ends the use of thimerosal in all vaccines. Kennedy stressed that flu shots will remain available in mercury-free, single-dose formats. Manufacturers have already confirmed their capacity to meet demand without toxic preservatives.
He called on global health bodies, particularly the World Health Organization and GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, to end the use of mercury-based preservatives in vaccines administered to babies in developing countries. “We urge the World Health Organization and GAVI to stop their programs of injecting mercury into more than 100 million Black and brown babies in developing countries annually,” Kennedy stated.
The call comes just weeks after the Gates Foundation pledged $1.6 billion to GAVI, a global vaccine initiative that says it helps immunize children in poor countries. Gates, a longtime vaccine advocate and former associate of Jeffrey Epstein, blamed Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) for U.S. foreign aid cuts, claiming the reductions will cause “millions of more deaths.” Last month, he even accused Musk of “killing the world’s poorest children” through his efforts to eliminate wasteful spending.
Kennedy’s breakthrough marks a decisive turning point in the battle for medical transparency and bodily autonomy.
“This decision sends a clear message,” Kennedy concluded. “The days of ignoring the science are over. The days of putting profits ahead of people are over.”
