In public health news, a U.S. vaccine advisory panel has recommended adults and children no longer receive flu vaccines containing trace amounts of the mercury-containing compound known as thimerosal. That’s despite the widespread scientific consensus that the preservative poses no risk to human health — and does not cause autism, as a discredited 1998 study claimed. Thursday’s decision by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices came after Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Jr. sacked the panel’s 17 voting members and replaced them with hand-picked appointees.