Meet RFK Jr.'s New Vaccine Advisers
We didn't think anyone could do more to damage trust in public health institutions than Anthony Fauci, but Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is giving it a whirl. See the eccentric crew the Health and Human Services Secretary has tapped to advise the department on vaccines.
Mr. Kennedy this week purged the agency's independent Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), claiming its members had conflicts of interest. Those ostensible conflicts were well-managed. But Mr. Kennedy vowed his committee replacements 'will exercise independent judgment.' Readers can judge whether this is likely to be true.
Two of his new members have served as 'expert' witnesses paid by plaintiff attorneys in lawsuits against vaccine makers. Conflicts, anyone? Biostatistician Martin Kulldorff backed claims against Merck over its HPV vaccine. Mr. Kennedy held a financial stake in one of the cases, which after he became secretary he bestowed to his son, who works at the law firm suing Merck, Wisner Baum.
Another appointee is biochemist Robert Malone, a loud critic of the Covid mRNA vaccines. He also served as a paid expert in litigation against Merck's mumps vaccine, which was rejected by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. Dr. Malone has downplayed the Texas measles outbreak and said two deaths of unvaccinated children owed to medical errors.
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