Although it has been largely phased out of U.S. vaccines, thimerosal has long been targeted by anti-vaccine advocates.

The Department of Health and Human Services moved to eliminate thimerosal from flu shots in a victory for antivaccine activists who say the mercury-based preservative causes autism. A vaccine advisory panel,

The US Department of Health and Human Services has adopted a recommendation to remove a preservative called thimerosal from all influenza vaccines distributed in the United States.