Health experts were shocked to see that thimerosal, a preservative that has largely been phased out of U.S. vaccines, was on the ACIP agenda.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s vaccine panel votes to stop recommending flu shots containing thimerosal, which government agencies and medical experts say is safe.

The preservative thimerosal has been removed from all but a few vaccines, and studies have confirmed no link to neurodevelopmental issues including autism. So public health experts were puzzled when it appeared on the agenda for this week’s meeting of outside vaccine advisers to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.