Latest news with #fluVaccines
News.com.au
10 hours ago
- Health
- News.com.au
RFK Jr. vaccine advisory panel votes against thimerosal in flu vaccines
An influential vaccine advisory panel made up of allies of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has voted to recommend against the use of flu vaccines containing thimerosal, a commonly used, mercury-based preservative that has long been a target of anti-vaccination groups. Health experts, including one voting member on the committee, have warned that the move could restrict access to multi-dose flu shots, exposing people to deadly influenza to mitigate the 'non-existent' health risks of thimerosal. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), a panel of outside experts that makes recommendations on vaccinations to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and plays a key role in determining immunisation schedules, voted in favour of the motion. It recommended that 'all adults receive seasonal influenza vaccines only in single-dose formulations that are free of thimerosal as a preservative' at its meeting in Atlanta, Georgia on Thursday. The vote passed with five yes votes, one no vote and one abstention. 'My concern is that by insisting the multi-dose vials [do not] contain thimerosal, that might limit the availability of the influenza vaccine for some people,' said Dr Cody Meissner, professor of pediatrics at Dartmouth's Geisel School of Medicine and the lone no vote. 'I would like to have that question answered but it's probably a difficult one to answer. My point is the risk from influenza is so much greater than the non-existent, as far as we know, risk from thimerosal. So I would hate for a person not to receive the influenza vaccine because the only available preparation contains thimerosal. I find that very hard to justify.' RFK Jr., Donald Trump's Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary and a long-time vaccine sceptic, earlier this month fired the entire 17-member ACIP panel, all of whom were appointed under former President Joe Biden. Mr Kennedy claimed in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that the ousted panel was 'plagued with persistent conflicts of interest' and had become 'little more than a rubber stamp for any vaccine'. 'Today we are prioritising the restoration of public trust above any specific pro- or anti-vaccine agenda,' he said in a HHS press release announcing the decision. 'The public must know that unbiased science — evaluated through a transparent process and insulated from conflicts of interest — guides the recommendations of our health agencies.' Mr Kennedy subsequently appointed eight new members to the panel, all of whom were ideological allies and prominent vaccine critics. They include Dr Robert Malone, an early researcher of mRNA technology who vocally opposed the Covid vaccines, and Dr Martin Kulldorff, a Swedish epidemiologist and biostatistician who criticised lockdown and social distancing policies, co-authoring the October 2020 'Great Barrington Declaration' with Oxford professor Dr Sunetra Gupta and Stanford professor Dr Jay Bhattacharya, who is now the director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This week's regular two-day ACIP meeting, which had been set to vote on the safety of flu vaccines and discuss proposed recommendations for the use of the combined MMRV vaccine for children under five, was updated to include a presentation on thimerosal by Lyn Redwood, a nurse practitioner and former president of Children's Health Defense, the anti-vaccination group founded by Mr Kennedy. Prior to the meeting, a slide contained in the presentation purporting to show thimerosal can have 'long-term consequences in the brain' was discovered to reference a non-existent study. Thimerosal, which is used in about 5 per cent of multi-dose flu vaccines, is a mercury-based preservative that has been in use for decades. It contains ethylmercury, which is cleared from the human body more quickly than methylmercury — the type of mercury found in certain kinds of fish that can be toxic to people at high exposure levels — and is therefore less likely to cause any harm. 'There is no evidence of harm caused by the low doses of thimerosal in vaccines, except for minor reactions like redness and swelling at the injection site,' a fact sheet on the CDC website states. 'In July 1999, the Public Health Service agencies, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and vaccine manufacturers agreed that thimerosal should be reduced or eliminated in vaccines as a precautionary measure.' Dr Kulldorf, the new ACIP chair, said after Ms Redwood's presentation that mercury toxicity was a 'cumulative issue' and 'we should try to minimise exposure'. 'Let's say a child is exposed to mercury from 10 different sources,' he said. 'Each of those 10 sources might be small enough, that source in itself is not dangerous, but if you then put all 10 together then it might be dangerous.' Secondly, he noted 'there are alternatives, and in fact most of the influenza vaccines given today do not contain thimerosal, so it's very feasible to not use thimerosal-containing vaccines … we don't really need it'. Dr Kulldorf added that 'if we put mercury in a product people are not going to want to buy' it. 'So if we want to promote people taking vaccines we should remove these mercury-containing preservatives,' he said. Dr Meissner said he was 'not quite sure how to respond to this presentation'. 'This is an old issue that has been addressed in the past,' he said. 'Of all the issues I think ACIP needs to focus on, this is not a big issue. I will also hasten to add that thimerosal is included in most vaccines that are administered around the globe. 'That is because single-dose vials are more expensive and many countries cannot afford a single-dose vial. I realise ACIP is focused on the United States, but the recommendations that the ACIP makes are followed among many countries around the world, and removing thimerosal from all vaccines that are used in other countries, for example, is going to reduce access to these vaccines, it will increase cost.' Dr Meissner stressed 'it's important to note that no study has ever indicated any harm from thimerosal'. 'It's been used in vaccines since before World War II,' he said. 'The decision by the FDA to remove thimerosal as much as possible is a very reasonable recommendation, but this recommendation was made not because there was any evidence of harm from thimerosal. It was made in an effort to reduce the total exposure to mercury in our environment. That's a reasonable objective. But you also have to consider what are the consequences of these sorts of recommendations.' Dr Joseph Hibbeln, a psychiatrist and neuroscientist with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), noted there was 'a significant benefit to the use of multi-dose vaccines instead of single-dose vaccines'. 'And apparently there is good data that other preservatives can be used, so I hope that the committee will put on the agenda the consideration of multi-use vials … that have other, better preservatives,' he said. Dr Jason Goldman, president of the American College of Physicians (ACP), asked during the public comment section 'if we will have an actual scientific presentation with peer-reviewed literature, strong evidence to actually discuss this issue'. 'Many statements have been made here today without support of science or evidence but merely opinion,' he said. 'Will there be an actual CDC presentation done by staff, scientists, physicians and those who are subject matter experts with accurate, peer-reviewed scientific data or will we have layperson presentations only?' Responding to the criticisms, Dr Kulldorf said 'I think it's inappropriate to dismiss a presentation just because the person does not have a PhD or an MD'. 'There are a lot of knowledgeable people who we would like to hear from,' he said. Prior to the meeting, the panel was reduced to seven members with the withdrawal of Dr Michael Ross. HHS said in a statement Dr Ross withdrew 'during the financial holdings review required of members before they can start work on the committee', without providing further details. Dr Ross was described as a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at George Washington University and Virginia Commonwealth University, but US media reports suggested he had not worked at either school in years. More recently he was linked to private biotech and healthcare ventures.
Daily Telegraph
14 hours ago
- Health
- Daily Telegraph
RFK Jr. vaccine advisory panel votes against thimerosal in flu vaccines
Don't miss out on the headlines from Illness. Followed categories will be added to My News. An influential vaccine advisory panel made up of allies of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has voted to recommend against the use of flu vaccines containing thimerosal, a commonly used, mercury-based preservative that has long been a target of anti-vaccination groups. Health experts, including one voting member on the committee, have warned that the move could restrict access to multi-dose flu shots, exposing people to deadly influenza to mitigate the 'non-existent' health risks of thimerosal. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), a panel of outside experts that makes recommendations on vaccinations to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and plays a key role in determining immunisation schedules, voted in favour of the motion. It recommended that 'all adults receive seasonal influenza vaccines only in single-dose formulations that are free of thimerosal as a preservative' at its meeting in Atlanta, Georgia on Thursday. The vote passed with five yes votes, one no vote and one abstention. 'My concern is that by insisting the multi-dose vials [do not] contain thimerosal, that might limit the availability of the influenza vaccine for some people,' said Dr Cody Meissner, professor of pediatrics at Dartmouth's Geisel School of Medicine and the lone no vote. 'I would like to have that question answered but it's probably a difficult one to answer. My point is the risk from influenza is so much greater than the non-existent, as far as we know, risk from thimerosal. So I would hate for a person not to receive the influenza vaccine because the only available preparation contains thimerosal. I find that very hard to justify.' US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Picture:/AFP RFK Jr., Donald Trump's Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary and a long-time vaccine sceptic, earlier this month fired the entire 17-member ACIP panel, all of whom were appointed under former President Joe Biden. Mr Kennedy claimed in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that the ousted panel was 'plagued with persistent conflicts of interest' and had become 'little more than a rubber stamp for any vaccine'. 'Today we are prioritising the restoration of public trust above any specific pro- or anti-vaccine agenda,' he said in a HHS press release announcing the decision. 'The public must know that unbiased science — evaluated through a transparent process and insulated from conflicts of interest — guides the recommendations of our health agencies.' Mr Kennedy subsequently appointed eight new members to the panel, all of whom were ideological allies and prominent vaccine critics. They include Dr Robert Malone, an early researcher of mRNA technology who vocally opposed the Covid vaccines, and Dr Martin Kulldorff, a Swedish epidemiologist and biostatistician who criticised lockdown and social distancing policies, co-authoring the October 2020 'Great Barrington Declaration' with Oxford professor Dr Sunetra Gupta and Stanford professor Dr Jay Bhattacharya, who is now the director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This week's regular two-day ACIP meeting, which had been set to vote on the safety of flu vaccines and discuss proposed recommendations for the use of the combined MMRV vaccine for children under five, was updated to include a presentation on thimerosal by Lyn Redwood, a nurse practitioner and former president of Children's Health Defense, the anti-vaccination group founded by Mr Kennedy. ACIP members Dr Cody Meissner, left, and Vicky Pebsworth speak on screen. Picture: Mike Stewart/AP Prior to the meeting, a slide contained in the presentation purporting to show thimerosal can have 'long-term consequences in the brain' was discovered to reference a non-existent study. Thimerosal, which is used in about 5 per cent of multi-dose flu vaccines, is a mercury-based preservative that has been in use for decades. It contains ethylmercury, which is cleared from the human body more quickly than methylmercury — the type of mercury found in certain kinds of fish that can be toxic to people at high exposure levels — and is therefore less likely to cause any harm. 'There is no evidence of harm caused by the low doses of thimerosal in vaccines, except for minor reactions like redness and swelling at the injection site,' a fact sheet on the CDC website states. 'In July 1999, the Public Health Service agencies, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and vaccine manufacturers agreed that thimerosal should be reduced or eliminated in vaccines as a precautionary measure.' Dr Kulldorf, the new ACIP chair, said after Ms Redwood's presentation that mercury toxicity was a 'cumulative issue' and 'we should try to minimise exposure'. 'Let's say a child is exposed to mercury from 10 different sources,' he said. 'Each of those 10 sources might be small enough, that source in itself is not dangerous, but if you then put all 10 together then it might be dangerous.' Secondly, he noted 'there are alternatives, and in fact most of the influenza vaccines given today do not contain thimerosal, so it's very feasible to not use thimerosal-containing vaccines … we don't really need it'. Thimerosal is a mercury-based preservative used in some multi-dose flu vials. Picture: David Goldman/AP Dr Kulldorf added that 'if we put mercury in a product people are not going to want to buy' it. 'So if we want to promote people taking vaccines we should remove these mercury-containing preservatives,' he said. Dr Meissner said he was 'not quite sure how to respond to this presentation'. 'This is an old issue that has been addressed in the past,' he said. 'Of all the issues I think ACIP needs to focus on, this is not a big issue. I will also hasten to add that thimerosal is included in most vaccines that are administered around the globe. 'That is because single-dose vials are more expensive and many countries cannot afford a single-dose vial. I realise ACIP is focused on the United States, but the recommendations that the ACIP makes are followed among many countries around the world, and removing thimerosal from all vaccines that are used in other countries, for example, is going to reduce access to these vaccines, it will increase cost.' Dr Meissner stressed 'it's important to note that no study has ever indicated any harm from thimerosal'. 'It's been used in vaccines since before World War II,' he said. 'The decision by the FDA to remove thimerosal as much as possible is a very reasonable recommendation, but this recommendation was made not because there was any evidence of harm from thimerosal. It was made in an effort to reduce the total exposure to mercury in our environment. That's a reasonable objective. But you also have to consider what are the consequences of these sorts of recommendations.' Demonstrators rally outside the ACIP meeting in Atlanta, Georgia. Picture: Mike Stewart/AP Dr Joseph Hibbeln, a psychiatrist and neuroscientist with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), noted there was 'a significant benefit to the use of multi-dose vaccines instead of single-dose vaccines'. 'And apparently there is good data that other preservatives can be used, so I hope that the committee will put on the agenda the consideration of multi-use vials … that have other, better preservatives,' he said. Dr Jason Goldman, president of the American College of Physicians (ACP), asked during the public comment section 'if we will have an actual scientific presentation with peer-reviewed literature, strong evidence to actually discuss this issue'. 'Many statements have been made here today without support of science or evidence but merely opinion,' he said. 'Will there be an actual CDC presentation done by staff, scientists, physicians and those who are subject matter experts with accurate, peer-reviewed scientific data or will we have layperson presentations only?' Responding to the criticisms, Dr Kulldorf said 'I think it's inappropriate to dismiss a presentation just because the person does not have a PhD or an MD'. 'There are a lot of knowledgeable people who we would like to hear from,' he said. Prior to the meeting, the panel was reduced to seven members with the withdrawal of Dr Michael Ross. HHS said in a statement Dr Ross withdrew 'during the financial holdings review required of members before they can start work on the committee', without providing further details. Dr Ross was described as a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at George Washington University and Virginia Commonwealth University, but US media reports suggested he had not worked at either school in years. More recently he was linked to private biotech and healthcare ventures. Originally published as RFK Jr. vaccine advisory panel votes against thimerosal in flu vaccines
Yahoo
a day ago
- Health
- Yahoo
CDC vaccine advisory panel recommends against flu vaccines containing thimerosal
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), made up of members recently hand-selected by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., voted 5-1 on Thursday to recommend against flu vaccines containing the preservative thimerosal. A few moments before, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's vaccine advisory committee voted 6-0 to recommend all Americans aged 6 months and older receive an annual influenza vaccine. One committee member, Vicky Pebsworth, abstained on each vote. MORE: Why is thimerosal back on the CDC's agenda when it's barely in flu shots anymore? Thimerosal is a mercury-based preservative, which is used to prevent microbial contamination of vaccines. Most flu vaccines currently used in the United States contain little to no thimerosal, but both the Food and Drug Administration and the CDC say there is no evidence low doses of thimerosal in vaccines cause harm other than minor reactions at the injection site, such as redness or swelling. Additionally, a 2010 CDC study found exposure to vaccines and immunoglobulins that contain thimerosal, in prenatal or infant stages, does not increase risk for autism spectrum disorder. This preservative was previously used in some common childhood immunizations, However, in the late 1990s, federal health agencies, the American Academy of Pediatrics and vaccine manufacturers agreed to reduce or eliminate thimerosal in vaccines as a precautionary measure, which public health experts previously told ABC News gave rise to anti-vaccine groups alleging thimerosal is not safe and fueled speculation that mercury causes autism. Kennedy, who has promoted vaccine-skeptic views that experts and decades of robust research have refuted, wrote a book in 2014 falsely claiming thimerosal is "toxic to brain tissue" and may cause autism, calling for its removal from all vaccines. During the ACIP meeting, Lyn Redwood, a former president of Children's Health Defense, a group that used to be chaired by Kennedy, gave a highly charged presentation as a private citizen. She claimed the preservative was toxic to the brain and refuted evidence-based claims that there has been no proven harm from thimerosal in vaccines. Her presentation received pushback from ACIP member Dr. Cody Meissner, who was the only member to vote against the recommendation. He said there "is no scientific evidence that thimerosal has caused problems." "The risk for influenza is so much greater than the non-existing risk from thimerosal," he added. Meissner said vaccines with thimerosal are metabolized as ethylmercury, not methylmercury, which is the form of mercury found in fish and shellfish, and is known to be a neurotoxin. "I'm not quite sure how to respond to this presentation," he said. "This is an old issue that has been addressed in the past. Ethylmercury is excreted much more quickly from the body. It is not associated with the high neurotoxicity that methylmercury [is]." Meissner also added that thimerosal is included in most multi-dose vaccines administered around the world because single-dose vials are more expensive, and removing thimerosal could increase the costs of vaccines. MORE: CDC vaccine advisory panel to study child immunization schedule, recommends RSV shot for babies "Thimerosal is included in most vaccines that are administered around the globe, and that is because single-dose vials are more expensive, and many countries cannot afford a single-dose vial," Meissner said. He went on, "I realize ACIP is focused on the United States, but the recommendations that the ACIP makes are followed among many countries around the world and removing thimerosal from all vaccines that are used in other countries, for example, is going to reduce access to these vaccines, it will increase cost." Multiple liaisons of medical groups in the committee also questioned in the meeting why Redwood was permitted to present given her limited scientific background and pushed back on the lack of peer-reviewed studies in her presentation. "This committee has always prided itself on openness, transparency and data and evidence. So I am wondering if we will have an actual scientific presentation with peer-reviewed literature, strong evidence to actually discuss this issue, as many statements have been made here today, without support of science or evidence, but merely opinion," Dr. Jason Goldman, a liaison for the American College of Physicians (ACP), said in the meeting. A CDC review of evidence on thimerosal was previously published on the agency's website -- showing no safety risks from the ingredient -- but was later taken down. A former CDC official posted a copy of the article online. "A scientifically rigorous CDC report reviewing the safety of thimerosal was posted for public access and then abruptly removed at the direction of the Office of the Secretary. The removal of this document, which contextualized decades of evidence showing no link between thimerosal and neurotoxicity or autism, raises serious concerns about transparency and the integrity of the decision-making process," Sean O'Leary, chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics' Committee on Infectious Diseases, said in a statement to ABC News. Doctors have voiced concern that no longer recommending thimerosal in some flu shots could lead to less people getting vaccinated and fuel further distrust of vaccines. "Any decrease in the number of flu vaccines available will likely result in fewer people being vaccinated and subsequently more hospitalizations and deaths. Its removal could also signal to the general public unwarranted safety concerns," O'Leary said. Another heated exchange in the meeting came during the discussion of flu vaccines when ACIP member Dr. Robert Malone described the 250 flu deaths among children during the most recent flu season as a "modest number." "The 250 pediatric deaths, which is, let's acknowledge, is a modest number fortunately," Malone said. This past season saw the highest number of flu deaths among children for a non-pandemic season, and the highest number seen since the 2009 H1N1 global flu pandemic, CDC data shows. Malone received immediate push back during the meeting. Goldman from ACP said the number of deaths "is not a small number, especially if it's your own child dying from the vaccine preventable illness." Jade A. Cobern, MD, MPH, is board-certified in pediatrics and general preventive medicine, and is a medical fellow of the ABC News Medical Unit.
Washington Post
a day ago
- Health
- Washington Post
CDC panel targets flu shot ingredient blasted by anti-vaccine activists
ATLANTA — Federal vaccine advisers installed by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. voted Thursday to effectively remove an ingredient from flu shots, achieving a longtime, controversial goal of anti-vaccine activists and illustrating how their priorities are becoming official government guidance. The vote to no longer recommend influenza vaccines that contain the preservative thimerosal, based on the presentation of a single vaccine critic, is likely to have limited impact because the vast majority of flu shots are thimerosal-free. But it would probably make the shots more expensive and harder to receive in parts of the country, public health experts said, and showed the panel's willingness to disregard scientific evidence.
CNN
18-06-2025
- Health
- CNN
CDC vaccine advisers to vote on thimerosal in flu shots at first meeting of new panel
A newly posted agenda for next week's meeting of the just-appointed group of outside vaccine advisers to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention includes a discussion and vote on thimerosal in flu vaccines, a preservative tied to debunked claims from decades ago of links to autism. The meeting, scheduled to start June 25 and run for two days, is the first for a newly installed group of eight Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices members. US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dismissed the previous group of 17 experts last week, claiming that they had conflicts of interest. A number of the new panelists, though, have raised concerns from the public health world for their positions on vaccines, including serving as expert witnesses in lawsuits against vaccine makers and suggesting without evidence that Covid-19 vaccines kill young people and should immediately be removed from the market. It's not clear what the discussion and vote at next week's meeting on thimerosal in flu vaccines will entail, and the presenter of the information at the meeting is listed on the agenda as 'TBD.' A spokesperson for HHS directed questions about the nature of the discussion and vote back to the posted agenda. Thimerosal is a mercury-based compound used to prevent bacteria and fungus from growing in vaccines, and the CDC says data from multiple studies 'show no evidence of harm caused by the low doses of thimerosal in vaccines.' Nonetheless, the use of thimerosal in vaccines has declined significantly since the US Food and Drug Administration in 1999 asked vaccine manufacturers to detail plans to remove it; the FDA now says 'all vaccines routinely recommended for children 6 years of age and younger in the U.S. are available in formulations that do not contain thimerosal.' The preservative is still used in some multidose vials of seasonal flu vaccines. Since thimerosal was largely removed from pediatric vaccines, autism rates have continued to rise, which the CDC notes 'is the opposite of what would be expected if thimerosal caused autism.' Thimerosal has long been a focus of Kennedy, who published a book in 2014 called 'Thimerosal: Let the Science Speak,' referring to it as 'mercury, a known neurotoxin.' The CDC points out, however, that there are two kinds of mercury – methylmercury and ethylmercury – and high levels of the first can be toxic to people. Thimerosal contains ethylmercury, the agency says, 'which is cleared from the human body more quickly than methylmercury, and is therefore less likely to cause any harm.' The fact that thimerosal is now on the agenda of Kennedy's newly appointed vaccine advisers suggests they may publicly claim, against evidence, that the preservative is dangerous, said Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccine scientist at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and an outside vaccine adviser to the FDA. 'All that's going to do is make it so that those vaccines will become less available and more expensive,' Offit told CNN. 'It certainly won't make them safer.' Offit pointed out that reformulating those vaccines couldn't be done quickly by manufacturers, so it would 'most likely just lead to vaccine shortages and make the vaccines more expensive.' Also new to the agenda is a discussion and proposed recommendations for the measles, mump, rubella and varicella (or chickenpox) vaccine for children under 5. It's not clear what the nature of that discussion will be either, and its presenters are also listed as 'TBD.' The combination vaccine, known as MMRV, has been approved in the US as ProQuad since 2005, and the CDC notes that while the combination vaccine has one fewer injection than the individual shots, it's associated with a higher risk for fever and febrile seizures five to 12 days after the first dose among children between 1 and 2 years old. Administering the varicella vaccine separately from the MMR vaccine avoids this increased risk, which the CDC points out is 'very low for both options.' Although it's not clear whether that will be the focus of the presentation and recommendations, Offit noted that vaccine advisers have already had that discussion, so 'I'm not sure what's going to be added here.' The meeting had been scheduled to take place over three days, according to a June 9 posting in the Federal Register, and now has been shortened to two. It still includes votes on RSV immunization for pregnant women and children and in the Vaccines for Children program, as well as planned discussions on Covid-19, chikungunya and anthrax vaccines, but the topic list has been significantly slimmed down. No longer included are discussions on cytomegalovirus vaccine, human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, Lyme disease vaccine, meningococcal vaccine and pneumococcal vaccines. At an internal meeting Tuesday among CDC employees, a member of leadership told staffers that some agenda items for the upcoming ACIP meeting might not be included because they were still bringing new members up to speed, according to a CDC employee who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal. The employee called that reasoning 'a transparent lie; they wouldn't have had to bring all these new people up to speed if they hadn't fired the old ones.' The agenda also includes a number of 'TBD' listings for presenters, including on the safety of Covid-19 vaccines and RSV immunizations. At previous meetings, those presentations on Covid-19 have been made by Dr. Fiona Havers and Dr. Lakshmi Panagiotakopoulos, who both resigned in the past few weeks, citing concerns about changes to the CDC's vaccine processes under Kennedy. 'My career in public health and vaccinology started with a deep-seated desire to help the most vulnerable members of our population,' Panagiotakopoulos wrote in an email to former ACIP members, obtained by CNN, 'and that is not something I am able to continue doing in this role.'
