The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), made up of members recently hand-selected by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., voted 5-1 on Thursday to recommend against flu vaccines containing the preservative thimerosal.

A new slate of vaccine advisers to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted Thursday to recommend that Americans receive influenza vaccines that are free of thimerosal even though there is no evidence of harm from the preservative.

Thimerosal is a preservative that’s been used primarily in multi-dose vaccine vials to prevent contamination with germs. It contains a form of mercury different from the toxic form found in fish, and studies have shown consistently that it does not pose health risks,