 "Kennedy's decision to fire independent CDC experts sparks fears of vaccine scepticism, experts warn")
Public health professionals and others warned Monday that the dismissal of an independent panel of experts by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who cited the purpose of rebuilding trust in vaccinations, might erode confidence in already available vaccines and expose Americans to avoidable infectious illnesses.
In a Wall Street Journal column, Kennedy, a long-time vaccine sceptic, said that he was dismissing all 17 members of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee for Immunisation Practices (ACIP) “to re-establish public confidence in vaccine science.”
The committee advises the CDC on the use of vaccinations that have been licensed by the US Food and Drug Administration.
“I fear that there will be human lives lost here because of this,” said Dr. Sean O’Leary, chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Committee on Infectious Diseases.
“It is a special kind of irony that he is saying he is doing this to restore trust, given that he is, as an individual, more responsible for sowing distrust in vaccines than almost anyone I can name,” O’Leary said.
O’Leary said pediatricians have already been fielding calls from parents who are confused about conflicting announcements earlier this month narrowing the use of COVID-19 vaccines for healthy children and pregnant women. “This is only going to add to that,” he said.
A U.S. Department of Health and Human Services spokesman said the agency is prioritizing public health, evidence-based medicine, and restoring public confidence in vaccine science.
The firing of the entire vaccine advisory committee comes just weeks before a scheduled public meeting in which advisers were expected to weigh in and vote on a number of decisions, including the 2025-26 COVID-19 vaccine boosters.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThe health agency said the committee will meet as scheduled on June 25-27, but it is unclear who would serve on that panel or how they have been vetted for conflicts of interest. The agency said it would replace them with new members currently under consideration.
Fired ACIP member Noel Brewer, a professor of public health at the University of North Carolina, said it took about 18 months from the time he applied until he was serving as an ACIP member.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer decried the changes. “Wiping out an entire panel of vaccine experts doesn’t build trust — it shatters it, and worse, it sends a chilling message: that ideology matters more than evidence, and politics more than public health,” he said in a statement.
Former CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden called out Kennedy’s “false claims” in the Wall Street Journal piece, saying the panel was rife with conflicts of interest. Most of the panel was appointed last year, the CDC website shows.
“Make no mistake: Politicizing the ACIP as Secretary Kennedy is doing will undermine public trust under the guise of improving it.”
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