In a significant move, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has revealed the appointment of eight new members to serve on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) vaccine advisory panel. This announcement comes just two days after Kennedy made the unprecedented decision to remove all 17 sitting members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).
On Wednesday, Kennedy disclosed the names and brief biographies of the newly appointed advisers, who will participate in the upcoming ACIP meeting scheduled for late June. In a post on X, Kennedy emphasized that these individuals are dedicated to evidence-based medicine, gold-standard science, and common sense. He stated that they have each committed to demanding definitive safety and efficacy data before making any new vaccine recommendations.
The new appointees to the ACIP include:
Dr. Joseph R. Hibbeln Martin Kulldorff Retsef Levi Dr. Robert Malone Dr. Cody Meissner Dr. Michael A. Ross Dr. James Pagano Vicky PebsworthThis change has been hailed as a significant victory for the medical freedom movement. David Mansdoerfer, a former deputy assistant secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services during the Trump administration, praised the selection of appointees, asserting that they were chosen through a meticulous process.
However, public health advocates express concern over the new selections. Dorit Reiss, a professor at UC Law, San Francisco, noted that Kennedy did not appoint individuals with strong, current expertise in vaccines. She voiced her apprehension that Kennedy may be assembling a committee that could be skeptical of vaccines and potentially pursue an anti-vaccine agenda.
The ACIP plays a crucial role in setting vaccine policy and crafting recommendations for the immunization schedule, which influences health providers and determines which vaccines are covered by health insurers. The new members have diverse backgrounds, with many gaining prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic through their criticism of government policies, including school closures and lockdowns, as well as the mRNA vaccines.
For instance, Martin Kulldorff is an epidemiologist and biostatistician known for co-authoring the Great Barrington Declaration, which challenged lockdown measures during the early days of the pandemic. Although Kulldorff declined to comment for this article, his stance on public health measures has been well-documented.
Dr. Robert Malone, who has gained notoriety for his criticism of the COVID-19 vaccines, previously contributed to the early research on mRNA technology. His claims regarding the vaccine have been met with skepticism and have been labeled as baseless by many in the scientific community.
Dr. Cody Meissner, a professor at Dartmouth College's Geisel School of Medicine, previously served on ACIP and has been involved in significant vaccine recommendations. His past disclosures of conflicts of interest during his tenure raise questions about the integrity of the current committee.
Kennedy's decision to overhaul the ACIP has sent shockwaves through the public health and medical establishment, raising fears that it may pave the way for a committee that could undermine existing vaccine policies. The next ACIP meeting is scheduled for June 25-27, but with only eight members appointed, they fall short of a quorum, which requires more than half of the voting members to be present.
As it stands, at least two ex-officio members from other HHS agencies will need to be temporarily authorized to vote for the committee to function effectively. This situation underscores the ongoing complexities and controversies surrounding vaccine policy and public health initiatives in the United States.
