Updated rules for CDC vaccine advisory panel reflect Kennedy skepticism
WASHINGTON– The Trump administration has updated the charter of a key federal vaccine advisory committee in a way that will increase the voice of anti-vaccine activists, the latest in a series of moves that critics say undermine confidence in life-saving vaccines.
The changes released Thursday follow a recent legal defeat that at least temporarily halted meetings of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which has for decades recommended how best to use the nation’s vaccines.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime vaccine skeptic, ousted all members of that committee shortly after becoming the nation’s top health official and replaced them with his own picks. The revamped panel then declined to recommend COVID-19 vaccines, even for high-risk populations, and voted to stop recommending most hepatitis B vaccines in newborns. Furthermore, under Kennedy, the administration also reduced the vaccination schedule for children.
The American Academy of Pediatrics and other health groups sued to block the measures, and last month a federal judge agreed. The administration has indicated it is considering an appeal but has not yet done so.
The committee, known as ACIP, advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which generally follows its recommendations. Those recommendations, in turn, have long guided the state’s vaccine requirements for schools and whether health insurance covers vaccines. Its charter – which essentially governs the rules – is regularly renewed every two years, without much fanfare.
The new charter expands the qualifications of panel members, which would allow the inclusion of Kennedy allies. While ACIP has long focused on vaccine safety, the updated charter also echoes comments from vaccine critics about focusing on possible harm, such as studying “gaps in vaccine safety research” and considering the “cumulative effects” of shots, which are considered established science. It would also ask the panel to examine other countries’ vaccination schedules.
The changes reflect “an ongoing effort to do more of the same things to undermine ACIP, undermine vaccine policy” and public trust, said Richard H. Hughes IV, an attorney representing the AAP.
The charter renewal deadline coincided with the legal proceedings, but Hughes said that did not resolve the legal challenge.
“Renewal of the ACIP charter and its publication are routine legal requirements and do not signal a broader policy change,” said Health and Human Services spokesman Andrew Nixon.
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