Latest news with #ChristyWalton
Medscape
06-05-2025
- Health
- Medscape
CIDRAP Unveils Vaccine Integrity Project
A new resource for seekers of independent vaccine science is in the works. The Vaccine Integrity Project, an initiative launched by the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), seeks to fill gaps left by recent federal changes that are altering the dissemination of scientific information, according to a press release by the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. The project is funded by an unrestricted gift from a foundation known as Alumbra, established by philanthropist Christy Walton. The project aligns with the CIDRAP mission to 'prevent illness and death from targeted infectious disease threats through research and the translation of scientific evidence into real-world, practical applications, policies, and solutions,' according to the press release. At its outset, the Vaccine Integrity Project has established an eight-member steering committee to help guide clinicians in optimizing protection of the public against vaccine-preventable diseases. The committee plans to hold facilitated, information-gathering sessions in coming months to gauge with actions are needed 'to ensure the integrity of the US vaccine system, including vaccine evaluations and clinical guidelines,' according to the project website. The Steering Committee is co-chaired by Margaret Hamburg, MD, former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner and co-president of the InterAcademy Partnership, and Harvey Fineberg, MD, current president of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and past president of the US National Academy of Medicine, according to the CIDRAP press release. Help for Clinical Practice and Public Health 'Access to nonbiased, objective, and accurate information would be very helpful, especially in a time where public health initiatives are at risk,' said Shirin Mazumder, MD, infectious diseases specialist in Memphis, Tennessee, in an interview. Removal of evidence-based medical information from public sources has the potential to further propagate misinformation and prevent the general public from making decisions regarding their health without all of the necessary facts, Mazumder said. 'This has a great potential of harm, especially as it pertains to vaccine-preventable illnesses,' she added. 'As a physician who cares for a large population of patients living with HIV and at risk for HIV, I have concerns regarding how proposed budget cuts to essential programs, such as the Ryan White HIV/AIDS program and Ending the HIV/AIDS Epidemic Initiative, will affect patient care,' Mazumder told Medscape Medical News . 'Young people, gay and bisexual men, and minority populations are disproportionately affected by HIV, and the proposed funding cuts will further marginalize this group and prevent the most vulnerable from accessing HIV education, prevention, testing, care, and treatment,' she said. 'The presence of an independent resource with no political affiliations that can serve as an objective guide to gather information from healthcare professionals, healthcare organizations, insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, and policymakers is critical to ensure that recommendations are comprehensive,' Mazumder told Medscape Medical News regarding the potential effect of the Vaccine Integrity Project. Ideally, the feedback gathered by these different groups will assist in creating guidelines rooted in evidence-based practice and provide accurate information to help people make the best decisions pertaining to preventative healthcare, she said.
Bloomberg
01-05-2025
- Health
- Bloomberg
US Vaccine Watchdog Effort Begins as Measles Surge Draws Alarm
The Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota has quietly begun to steer a national initiative to safeguard the scientific foundations of US vaccine policy — a bold move at a time of mounting political interference and an escalating measles outbreak. Funded by a $240,000 gift from Alumbra, a foundation established by Walmart Inc. heiress Christy Walton, the so-called Vaccine Integrity Project will explore how independent groups, including scientists, doctors and public health organizations, can help uphold science-based vaccine guidance if government groups are weakened by political pressure or resource cuts.
Axios
29-04-2025
- Health
- Axios
Scientists mobilize to counter vaccine misinformation
A group of public health experts and scientists is mobilizing to counter vaccine misinformation from federal agencies, in an effort backed by Walmart heiress Christy Walton that could eventually produce independent product evaluations and clinical guidelines. Why it matters: It's the latest bid to push back against vaccine skepticism the group's founders contend is threatening to compromise federal public health agencies and the information they disseminate. The initiative is led by former FDA commissioner Margaret Hamburg and former National Academy of Medicine president Harvey Fineberg and will operate as part of the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP). Driving the news: The newly formed Vaccine Integrity Project aims to start meeting with medical associations, state health officials, insurers, pharmacies and others next month on steps such as establishing a network of subject matter experts to conduct science-based reviews of vaccines. The effort is supported by an unrestricted gift from Alumbra, a foundation established by Walton, the widow of Walmart heir John Walton. "This project acknowledges the unfortunate reality that the system that we've relied on to make vaccine recommendations and to review safety and effectiveness data faces threats," said epidemiologist Michael Osterholm, the director of CIDRAP. "It is prudent to evaluate whether independent activities may be needed to stand in its place and how nongovernmental groups might operate to continue to provide science-based information to the American public." Osterholm told Science the group will seek out guidance about potentially "reviewing government decisions and messaging to provide clear and evidence-based information" and about "the potential need for a new independent body to evaluate vaccine safety and effectiveness." Between the lines: The effort comes as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s vaccine skepticism is putting him at odds with most scientists and some of the industries he's regulating. Some researchers fear he could appoint like-minded individuals to panels that advise the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccine policy. Most American adults report having heard or read some false claims about measles or the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine. Meanwhile, Idaho recently passed a first-in-the-nation ban on vaccine mandates in businesses and schools, and several other states considered legislation this year that would have banned mRNA vaccines. The other side: A spokesperson for HHS called the Vaccine Integrity Project "a self-appointed echo chamber masquerading as oversight."
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Concerned about US vaccine misinformation and access, public health experts start Vaccine Integrity Project
Concerned that the nation's health leadership is casting unfounded doubt on the safety of well-studied vaccines and may take action to curb their use, a group of public health experts is working to put pieces in place to respond. The initiative, the Vaccine Integrity Project, will be funded by a foundation backed by Walmart heiress Christy Walton and has a steering committee helmed by former US Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg and former National Academy of Medicine President Dr. Harvey Fineberg, said Dr. Michael Osterholm, who is leading the initiative and who serves as director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. The effort will consider what's needed to safeguard vaccine policy and use in the US, including whether there's a need for a new independent body to evaluate vaccine safety and effectiveness, Osterholm said ahead of Thursday's announcement. 'There have been conversations happening for months now across the public health community about, 'what will we do if US government vaccine information becomes corrupted or the system that helps to ensure their safety and efficacy are compromised?' ' he said. The initiative is being formed in response to actions by US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has spread mixed messages about the measles vaccine amid a deadly outbreak, accused advisers to federal health agencies of conflicts of interest and pledged to start a major autism study that experts fear will falsely tie the condition to vaccines. The Vaccine Integrity Project's first move will be to hold a series of information-gathering sessions, pulling together experts from local public health departments, medical associations, academia, public policy, industry and others. The initial goal is to determine 'what is important to have going forward if, in fact, there should be compromise by the federal government in terms of our vaccine enterprise,' Osterholm said. 'We can't say at this point that that's happened, but we don't want to wait until the moment it might happen, and we have enough signals that that is.' He pointed to Kennedy's vaccine comments, as well as moves like some Minnesota state legislators' introduction of a bill this week 'to declare that mRNA vaccine technology is a weapon of mass destruction and that it should be immediately taken off the market and anyone using it would be liable for criminal activity.' 'Who's going to respond to that?' Osterholm asked. 'Is anybody at the federal government level going to respond to activities like that? That's a question I think we are left, at this point, unanswered.' The 'initial feedback phase,' as he called it, will start this month and last until early August. 'We don't know what's this is going to look like at the end, but we'll only find out by listening to all of these groups,' Osterholm said. 'At the end of that process, hopefully we can all look at it and come to a similar conclusion, that this is what's necessary or not necessary to protect the vaccine enterprise.'
CNN
24-04-2025
- Health
- CNN
Concerned about US vaccine misinformation and access, public health experts start Vaccine Integrity Project
Concerned that the nation's health leadership is casting unfounded doubt on the safety of well-studied vaccines and may take action to curb their use, a group of public health experts is working to put pieces in place to respond. The initiative, the Vaccine Integrity Project, will be funded by a foundation backed by Walmart heiress Christy Walton and has a steering committee helmed by former US Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg and former National Academy of Medicine President Dr. Harvey Fineberg, said Dr. Michael Osterholm, who is leading the initiative and who serves as director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. The effort will consider what's needed to safeguard vaccine policy and use in the US, including whether there's a need for a new independent body to evaluate vaccine safety and effectiveness, Osterholm said ahead of Thursday's announcement. 'There have been conversations happening for months now across the public health community about, 'what will we do if US government vaccine information becomes corrupted or the system that helps to ensure their safety and efficacy are compromised?' ' he said. The initiative is being formed in response to actions by US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has spread mixed messages about the measles vaccine amid a deadly outbreak, accused advisers to federal health agencies of conflicts of interest and pledged to start a major autism study that experts fear will falsely tie the condition to vaccines. The Vaccine Integrity Project's first move will be to hold a series of information-gathering sessions, pulling together experts from local public health departments, medical associations, academia, public policy, industry and others. The initial goal is to determine 'what is important to have going forward if, in fact, there should be compromise by the federal government in terms of our vaccine enterprise,' Osterholm said. 'We can't say at this point that that's happened, but we don't want to wait until the moment it might happen, and we have enough signals that that is.' He pointed to Kennedy's vaccine comments, as well as moves like some Minnesota state legislators' introduction of a bill this week 'to declare that mRNA vaccine technology is a weapon of mass destruction and that it should be immediately taken off the market and anyone using it would be liable for criminal activity.' 'Who's going to respond to that?' Osterholm asked. 'Is anybody at the federal government level going to respond to activities like that? That's a question I think we are left, at this point, unanswered.' The 'initial feedback phase,' as he called it, will start this month and last until early August. 'We don't know what's this is going to look like at the end, but we'll only find out by listening to all of these groups,' Osterholm said. 'At the end of that process, hopefully we can all look at it and come to a similar conclusion, that this is what's necessary or not necessary to protect the vaccine enterprise.'
