RFK Jr. Removes All Members of CDC Vaccine Advisory Panel
The Department of Health and Human Services is dismissing all 17 members that make up one of the main committees advising the US government on vaccine safety and policy, an unprecedented move to reshape a key scientific panel. 'A clean sweep is needed to reestablish public confidence in vaccine science,' Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Monday in an opinion piece published in the Wall Street Journal. The group, known as the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, reviews the latest data and makes recommendations to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which typically implements them. The group's recommendations are influential and determine whether insurers cover shots, among other things. (Source: Bloomberg)
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CBS News
26 minutes ago
- CBS News
RFK Jr. taps allies and COVID vaccine critics among picks for CDC advisory panel. Here's who's on the list.
Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Wednesday he's naming eight new advisers to serve on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's vaccine recommendations committee, after firing the committee's entire previous roster of 17 advisers. "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," Kennedy said Wednesday in a post on X. Kennedy's picks circumvented the usual CDC process for selecting members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. In previous administrations, career agency officials — not political leaders — vetted potential experts before forwarding them to the department for the secretary's approval. The panel's influential recommendations are closely watched because they are directly tied to federal policies, like which vaccines insurers are required to cover. The picks announced by Kennedy include some close allies of the secretary and his inner circle. One of them, Dr. Robert Malone, worked on early research related to mRNA vaccine technology but was accused during the COVID-19 pandemic of spreading misinformation about the mRNA vaccines. He was with Kennedy and President Trump at the Trump election night celebration in Florida. "On the basis of data from all over the world, approximately three years ago it was my impression that the risk/benefit ratio of these products did not merit continued use in any cohort," Malone posted last month on his Substack about the mRNA COVID vaccines. Like Kennedy, Malone has questioned the benefits of measles vaccines during the recent record outbreak in Texas, which killed two children, and he has promoted unproven treatments for the virus. Another member picked by Kennedy is Dr. Martin Kulldorff, an epidemiologist who co-authored the pandemic-era Great Barrington Declaration criticizing COVID-19 restrictions, along with now-NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya. Bhattacharya has described Kulldorff as a close friend. Kulldorff previously worked with the CDC's outside vaccine advisers, before authoring an opinion piece in 2021 criticizing the agency's decision to pause use of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine over safety concerns. He claimed he was fired from working with the committee over the opinion piece. Kulldorff later claimed he was fired from Harvard University for criticizing COVID-19 vaccine requirements. Dr. Cody Meissner, a pediatrics professor who previously served as a member of the Food and Drug Administration's own vaccines panel — the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee – was also named to the committee. Meissner opposed COVID-19 vaccine requirements for children. He also co-authored an opinion piece with now-FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary speaking out against masking of children during the pandemic. Another former member of the FDA vaccines panel who was picked by Kennedy is Vicky Pebsworth, a regional director of the National Association of Catholic Nurses. Pebsworth spoke at a 2020 meeting of the FDA vaccines committee, where she identified herself as the research director for the National Vaccine Information Center and "mother of a child injured by his 15-month well-baby shots in 1998." She said the center's position was that any "coercion and sanctions to persuade adults to take an experimental vaccine, or give it to their children, is unethical and unlawful." Kennedy also praised another pick, MIT professor Retsef Levi, saying: "Dr. Levi has collaborated with public health agencies to evaluate vaccine safety, including co-authoring studies on mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and their association with cardiovascular risks." Levi previously called for more detailed data from the COVID-19 vaccine trials, suggesting that changes to how Pfizer's shot was produced may have caused side effects. But Levi faced criticism for a paper co-authored with Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo, which was cited in the state's move to recommend that young men not get mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. Experts condemned the paper for misleading methods that could inflate the risk. The views on vaccines of several of Kennedy's other picks are less clear. Kennedy said Dr. Michael A. Ross "contributed to national strategies for cancer prevention and early detection, including those involving HPV immunization," working with the CDC's breast and cervical cancer committee. Ross is described by Kennedy as an obstetrics and gynecology professor at George Washington University and Virginia Commonwealth University, though his name does not appear on directories for either university. Spokespeople for the two institutions did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Dr. James Pagano, described by Kennedy as a "strong advocate for evidence-based medicine," appears to have published little about vaccines or medicine. Records from the Medical Board of California list Pagano as being retired. Another Kennedy pick, Dr. Joseph Hibbeln, retired from the National Institutes of Health in 2020. His research portfolio previously covered nutritional intake of fatty acids like omega-3. Kennedy described him as bringing "expertise in immune-related outcomes, psychiatric conditions, and evidence-based public health strategies."
Yahoo
30 minutes ago
- Yahoo
RFK Jr. appoints 8 new members to CDC's vaccine advisory committee, including some critics of shots
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced on Wednesday eight new members to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's independent vaccine advisory committee, some of whom have been critics of shots -- especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. It comes just two days after Kennedy removed all 17 sitting members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), claiming the panel was plagued by conflicts of interest and was a "rubber stamp" for all vaccines. The ACIP makes recommendations on the safety, efficacy and clinical need of vaccines, and the CDC has the final say on whether or not to accept the recommendations. MORE: What may be next for CDC's vaccine advisory committee after RFK Jr. removed all its members? Kennedy said in a post on X that the new members include "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." The new members will be at an upcoming ACIP meeting scheduled to be held between June 25 and June 27, according to Kennedy. The meeting is to discuss new recommendations for several vaccines, including the HPV vaccine and the COVID-19 vaccine. "The committee will review safety and efficacy data for the current schedule as well," Kennedy wrote in the post on X. The new eight members appear to have strong credentials related to medicine, public health, epidemiology and statistics, but with less of an emphasis on credentials related to immunology, virology and vaccinology in comparison with previous committees. Kennedy told ABC News on Tuesday that the replacements for ACIP would not be "anti-vaxxers." However, some of the new members have previously espoused anti-vaccine sentiments, especially around COVID-19 vaccines and mRNA technology. One of them, Dr. Robert Malone -- who made some early contributors to mRNA vaccine technology -- spread misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic, claiming people were "hypnotized" into believing mainstream ideas about COVID-19, such as vaccination. MORE: RFK Jr. has promoted 'freedom of choice' while limiting vaccines, food Retsef Levi, another newly appointed member, has previously published non-peer reviewed research alongside Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo on COVID-19 vaccines, suggesting healthy people have died from the shots. Another of the new members, Dr. Martin Kulldorff, was a co-author of the Great Barrington Declaration, along with Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health. Published in October 2020 and named after the Massachusetts town in which it was drafted, the Great Barrington Declaration called for COVID-19 lockdowns to be avoided and a new plan for handling the pandemic by protecting the most vulnerable individuals but allowing most to resume normal activities, achieving herd immunity naturally -- a plan criticized as "unethical" by Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization. At least four of the eight members appear to have been influential to Kennedy's beliefs. Stat News reported that Malone, Kuldorff and two other new members, Vicky Pebsworth and Dr. Cody Meissner, are all listed in the dedication in the secretary's book, 'The Real Anthony Fauci,' which attempts to undermine the former health official's work and questions his motivations before and during the pandemic. It remains unclear if Kennedy plans to appoint any more members to ACIP RFK Jr. appoints 8 new members to CDC's vaccine advisory committee, including some critics of shots originally appeared on
35 minutes ago
RFK Jr. appoints 8 new members to CDC's vaccine advisory committee, including some critics of shots
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced on Wednesday eight new members to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's independent vaccine advisory committee, some of whom have been critics of shots -- especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. It comes just two days after Kennedy removed all 17 sitting members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), claiming the panel was plagued by conflicts of interest and was a "rubber stamp" for all vaccines. The ACIP makes recommendations on the safety, efficacy and clinical need of vaccines, and the CDC has the final say on whether or not to accept the recommendations. Kennedy said in a post on X that the new members include "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." The new members will be at an upcoming ACIP meeting scheduled to be held between June 25 and June 27, according to Kennedy. The meeting is to discuss new recommendations for several vaccines, including the HPV vaccine and the COVID-19 vaccine. "The committee will review safety and efficacy data for the current schedule as well," Kennedy wrote in the post on X. The new eight members appear to have strong credentials related to medicine, public health, epidemiology and statistics, but with less of an emphasis on credentials related to immunology, virology and vaccinology in comparison with previous committees. Kennedy told ABC News on Tuesday that the replacements for ACIP would not be "anti-vaxxers." However, some of the new members have previously espoused anti-vaccine sentiments, especially around COVID-19 vaccines and mRNA technology. One of them, Dr. Robert Malone -- who made some early contributors to mRNA vaccine technology -- spread misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic, claiming people were "hypnotized" into believing mainstream ideas about COVID-19, such as vaccination. Retsef Levi, another newly appointed member, has previously published non-peer reviewed research alongside Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo on COVID-19 vaccines, suggesting healthy people have died from the shots. Another of the new members, Dr. Martin Kulldorff, was a co-author of the Great Barrington Declaration, along with Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health. Published in October 2020 and named after the Massachusetts town in which it was drafted, the Great Barrington Declaration called for COVID-19 lockdowns to be avoided and a new plan for handling the pandemic by protecting the most vulnerable individuals but allowing most to resume normal activities, achieving herd immunity naturally -- a plan criticized as "unethical" by Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization. At least four of the eight members appear to have been influential to Kennedy's beliefs. Stat News reported that Malone, Kuldorff and two other new members, Vicky Pebsworth and Dr. Cody Meissner, are all listed in the dedication in the secretary's book, 'The Real Anthony Fauci,' which attempts to undermine the former health official's work and questions his motivations before and during the pandemic.
