Exclusive-Kennedy's new vaccine adviser was expert witness against Merck vaccine
By Chad Terhune and Dan Levine
(Reuters) -One of the new vaccine advisers picked by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has earned thousands of dollars as an expert witness in litigation against Merck's Gardasil vaccine, court records show.
Martin Kulldorff, a biostatistician and epidemiologist who publicly criticized COVID-era lockdowns, is one of eight new members named by Kennedy on Wednesday to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a highly influential panel that recommends which shots should be administered to the American public.
Kennedy fired the entire previous 17-member committee of expert vaccine advisers this week, claiming they were "plagued with persistent conflicts of interest" from financial ties to drugmakers.
Kulldorff recently served as an expert witness for plaintiffs who accused Merck of concealing the risks of Gardasil, which is intended to prevent cancers caused by human papillomavirus (HPV). In March, a federal judge in North Carolina ruled in favor of Merck in one of those cases that included about 200 lawsuits.
At a deposition in October, Kulldorff testified that the plaintiffs paid him $400 an hour and he had already billed for about $33,000 in legal work on the case through late September. He said he also received a $4,000 retainer in the North Carolina case, according to court documents.
Kulldorff is also listed as an expert witness in a similar case pending against Merck in Los Angeles state court, records show.
Under ACIP's rules, committee members cannot serve as a "paid litigation consultant or expert witness in litigation involving a vaccine manufacturer' during their tenure on the panel.
Prior work as an expert witness against drugmakers may require a waiver from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and recusal from votes involving Merck and HPV vaccines. The agency has said in its rules it "will generally consider issuance of waivers in specific situations."
Kulldorff did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Merck declined to comment.
A spokesman for Kennedy's Health and Human Services Department said on Wednesday that "all newly appointed ACIP members were thoroughly vetted." HHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Kulldorff.
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