US Health Secretary RFK Jr fires entire vaccine advisory committee
What's the story
Robert F Kennedy Jr, the United States Health Secretary, has dismissed all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Kennedy, a vaccine skeptic, cited "conflicts of interest" as a reason for this move in an opinion piece for The Wall Street Journal.
He argued that these conflicts were eroding public trust in vaccines and said he wanted to "ensure the American people receive the safest vaccines possible."
Justification
'Committee has conflicts of interest'
Kennedy wrote, "The committee has been plagued with persistent conflicts of interest and has become little more than a rubber stamp for any vaccine."
He added that health authorities and drug companies have caused a "crisis of public trust," which some attribute to "misinformation or antiscience attitudes."
He claimed most ACIP members had received significant funding from pharmaceutical companies, including those promoting vaccines.
Backlash
Decision draws criticism from major medical groups
Kennedy's decision has drawn criticism from major medical groups.
Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, called it "a coup," saying it's not how democracies work and isn't good for the nation's health.
Dr. Bruce A Scott, president of the American Medical Association, said this move will further fuel the spread of vaccine-preventable illnesses with an ongoing measles outbreak and declining routine child vaccination rates.
Uncertainty
Health secretary did not disclose who would replace ousted members
Kennedy did not disclose who would replace the ousted ACIP members.
The committee is set to meet on June 25 to vote on recommendations for vaccines against COVID-19, flu, meningococcal disease, RSV, and more.
This decision contradicts assurances Kennedy gave during his confirmation hearings.
Republican Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, a doctor, said he received commitments from the health secretary that ACIP would be maintained "without changes."
History
US could become 'the laughing stock of the globe'
Given Kennedy's past as a leading anti-vaccine activist, there are concerns about the future of the ACIP under his leadership.
Dr. Jonathan Temte, a former ACIP chair from 2012 to 2015, warned that the US could become "the laughing stock of the globe" in terms of vaccine policy.
He said, "Across the entire world, ACIP has been the paragon of solid, well-thought-out, evidence-based vaccine policy."