Medical community concerned over RFK Jr. removing all members of CDC vaccine panel
Following Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s move to remove all 17 members of the CDC's vaccine advisory committee, questions mount over what the country's vaccine policy could look like. Host of 'The Bulwark Podcast' Tim Miller and Infectious Disease Expert Dr. Nahid Bhadelia MD join Alex Witt to break down the possibility of RFK Jr. 'stacking' the new committee with members who agree with his stance on vaccinations.
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Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
RFK Jr. Picks Former Joe Rogan Guest to Advise on Vaccine Safety
One of the eight new members appointed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to sit on a vaccine advisory panel found national fame with a controversial appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience. In an X post on Wednesday, Kennedy announced that he had appointed eight new doctors and researchers to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). The expert panel guides the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as well as the Department of Health and Human Services, to make the 'most appropriate selection of vaccines and related agents' to effectively manage vaccine-preventable diseases within the country, per the CDC. Earlier this week, Kennedy fired all 17 previous members of the panel and reinstated eight new ones—a decision he described as a 'major step toward restoring public trust in vaccines.' 'I'm now repopulating ACIP with the eight new members who will attend ACIP's scheduled June 25 meeting,' Kennedy continued. 'The slate includes highly credentialed scientists, leading public health experts, and some of America's most accomplished physicians. All of these individuals are committed to evidence-based medicine, gold-standard science, and common sense. They have each committed to demanding definitive safety and efficacy data before making any new vaccine recommendations.' One of the eight new members, Dr. Robert Malone, was previously the subject of intense scrutiny—and, in some circles, praise—for conspiracies he touted about the COVID-19 virus and vaccine in a 2021 episode of The Joe Rogan Experience. At the time, Dr. Malone argued that parts of the population had been 'hypnotized' by health professionals into believing that their reports and recommendations on COVID-19 were true. He also questioned the severity of the virus and drew comparisons between the COVID-19 vaccine and Nazi medical experiments, per The New York Times. Dr. Malone, who played an early role in mRNA research and claims to be the inventor of the technology, was criticized in an open letter from more than 250 healthcare professionals and researchers following the episode for 'broadcasting misinformation.' 'On Dec. 31, 2021, The Joe Rogan Experience (JRE), a Spotify-exclusive podcast, uploaded a highly controversial episode featuring guest Dr. Robert Malone (#1757),' the January 2022 open letter to Spotify read. 'The episode has been criticized for promoting baseless conspiracy theories and the JRE has a concerning history of broadcasting misinformation, particularly regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.' In a 2022 profile for The New York Times, Dr. Malone dismissed fact-checks of his claims as 'attacks' and maintained that he received pushback because anything that questions guidance from institutions like the CDC is quickly labeled as misinformation. Meanwhile, the seven other members Kennedy appointed include: Dr. Joseph R. Hibbeln, Dr. Martin Kulldorff (who criticized pandemic protocols in 2020), Dr. Retsef Levi, Dr. Cody Meissner, Dr. James Pagano, Dr. Vicky Pebsworth, and Dr. Michael A. Ross.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Editorial: Ax to the vax — RFK Jr. continues on his anti-vaccine warpath
It's time for President Donald Trump, despite his own casual relationship with the truth, to stop putting American lives at risk and get rid of his dangerous quack in chief, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. In his latest broadside against science, Kennedy is removing all 17 members of the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices, the CDC's main advisory body, to ostensibly restore 'public trust above any specific pro- or anti-vaccine agenda.' God protect us, as RFK won't. This is how a society becomes undone. Science and reason get stepped on by half-truths and conspiracy theories. Next comes preventable death and disease. The problem is that there is no anti-vaccine side in the legitimate practice of science and medicine. The department's accompanying press release denigrated 'public health ideology' as if the practice of public health wasn't the CDC's only function. Researchers and doctors should be biased in favor of evidence-based therapeutics that save lives. Railing against bias towards vaccines is like a politician condemning researchers biased in favor of seatbelts in cars or keeping lead out of household paint. It's idiotic. We understand that the Make America Healthy Again movement Kennedy leads is all about questioning medical and nutritional practice. On a really abstract level, we are in agreement that no scientific truisms should be entirely above questioning — such a perspective would be anti-science. But there is a specific and long-standing methodology for actually answering those questions, and it is not debate club or who can most incite crowds of followers. It is the scientific method, under which hypotheses can be rigorously tested in ways that are replicable and based on clear and clearly laid out evidence. In that arena — really the only arena that actually matters when it comes to public health — the safety and efficacy of vaccines has been conclusively established. There is no additional discussion necessary or appropriate, particularly when it comes to immunizations that have now been standard-issue for decades and have by all measures radically decreased illness and mortality where they've been successfully deployed. The measles vaccine will always be better for individuals and public health than getting the measles. The same is true for polio, tetanus, COVID and all else. Preying on public skepticism of the pharmaceutical and health industries to hawk alternative approaches that are often unregulated and don't work is damaging it enough. Yet a true believer like RFK is more dangerous, especially now that he stands at the pinnacle of our nation's public health bureaucracy, a position that allows him to substantively impose his own anti-science view on an unsuspecting public and take the choice away from the American people. If RFK's new picks for ACIP — which the secretary falsely promised Sen. Bill Cassidy he wouldn't touch during his confirmation process — step back from recommending various crucial vaccines, this could substantially prevent even those who want to make the informed decision to receive inoculations or have their children vaccinated from being able to do so. As much as Kennedy and his followers emphasize the need for people to be able to make individual choices about their health, they seem hell-bent on taking that choice away entirely, especially given that insurance is not required to cover vaccines that are not CDC-recommended. We wonder what RFK will have to say for himself as once-eradicated diseases begin cutting through the U.S. population again. Is there anything that will get him to veer off this disastrous course? If the answer is no, and we suspect it is, then he must be removed before he can further damage public health. _____
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
RFK Jr. names 8 new CDC vaccine advisory members, including skeptics
June 11 (UPI) -- Two days after disbanding the entire 17-member independent vaccine advisory committee, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Wednesday appointed eight new members, including prominent vaccine skeptics and pandemic response critics. CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, is scheduled to meet next on June 25. The new panel included seven men and one woman. "The slate includes highly credentialed scientists, leading public-health experts, and some of America's most accomplished physicians," Kennedy said in a post on X. "All of these individuals are committed to evidence-based medicine, gold-standard science, and common sense. They have each committed to demanding definitive safety and efficacy data before making any new vaccine recommendations. The committee will review safety and efficacy data for the current schedule as well." On Monday, Kennedy said the former members had conflicts of interest on a panel that "wields the grave responsibility of adding new vaccines to the recommended childhood schedule." He pointed ties to Big Pharma. Kennedy, a long-time vaccine critic, said the "most outrageous example of ACIP's malevolent malpractice has been its stubborn unwillingness to demand adequate safety trials before recommending new vaccines for our children. ... ACIP has recommended each of these additional jabs without requiring placebo-controlled trials for any of them. This means that no one can scientifically ascertain whether these products are averting more problems than they are causing." CDC has narrowed its recommendations for mRNA Covid-19 shots, including by children and pregnant women. DHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon told NBC News that "all newly appointed ACIP members were thoroughly vetted" but declined to offer specifics. ACIP normally includes pediatricians, geriatricians and other vaccine experts but the new panel includes a psychiatrist, neuroscientist, epidemiologist and biostatistician, and professor of operations management. Kennedy released information on the new members. Dr. Robert Malone, a physician-scientist and biochemist, has been a vocal critic of mRNA technology in COVID-19 vaccines after making early innovations in the field of messenger RNA. He suggested this year, without evidence, that pediatric deaths from measles were due to medical error. He has served in advisory roles for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense. "His expertise spans molecular biology, immunology, and vaccine development," Kennedy said. Dr. Martin Kulldorff, a biostatistician and epidemiologist, co-authored an October 2020 strategy on herd immunity known as the Great Barrington Declaration with Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, now director of the U.S. National Institutes of Health. He formerly was at Harvard Medical School, and served on Food and Drug Administration and CDC panels. "He has also been an influential voice in public health policy, advocating for evidence-based approaches to pandemic response," Kennedy said. Dr. Cody Meissner, a Dartmouth professor of pediatrics who also signed the Great Barrington Declaration, has served on ACIP and on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee. "His expertise spans vaccine development, immunization safety, and pediatric infectious disease epidemiology," Kennedy said. Dr. Joseph Hibbeln, a psychiatrist and neuroscientist, is former acting chief of the U.S. National Institutes of Health section on nutritional neurosciences. "His work has informed U.S. public health guidelines, particularly in maternal and child health," Kennedy said. "Dr. Hibbeln brings expertise in immune-related outcomes, psychiatric conditions, and evidence-based public health strategies." Dr. Retsef Levi, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor of operations management, has published studies on mRNA vaccines and cardiovascular events. "His research has contributed to discussions on vaccine manufacturing processes, safety surveillance, and public health policy," Kennedy said. He has been involved in healthcare systems optimization, epidemiologic modeling, and the application of AI and data science in public health. Dr. James Pagano, an emergency medicine physician with 40 years of clinical experience from "Level 1 trauma centers to small community hospitals, caring for patients across all age groups," Kennedy said in describing him as a "strong advocate for evidence-based medicine." He has served on hospital committees, including utilization review, and medical executive boards. Dr. Vicky Pebsworth, a pediatric professor at Dartmouth, is the Pacific region director of the National Association of Catholic Nurses. She has served on the FDA committee, as well as a national panel reviewing the 2009 H1N1 swine flu vaccine. "She has worked in the healthcare field for more than 45 years, serving in various capacities," Kennedy said. NBC News reported she is a leading source of misinformation about vaccines. Dr. Michael Ross, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at George Washington University and Virginia Commonwealth University, has served on the CDC's Advisory Committee for the Prevention of Breast and Cervical Cancer. "His continued service on biotech and healthcare boards reflects his commitment to advancing innovation in immunology, reproductive medicine and public health," Kennedy said. Dr. Noel Brewer, an ACIP member who was fired this week, told MSNBC on Wednesday: "The new panel is missing all of the expertise that has come before them. They don't know how to go about looking at the evidence, how to think about the volumes of data that will be coming their way." Brewer, who said members should be replaced on a rolling basis, is a professor in the department of health behavior at the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health. "Being a vaccine skeptic is not a bad thing if you follow the science," Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, told NBC News. "I'm concerned that the names he's put out so far aren't ideologically balanced. I think he got the slate he was looking for." Benjamin said Kennedy's policies are a danger to public health.
