RFK Jr.’s Overhauled Vaccine Panel Sparks Immediate Controversy, Alarms Pediatric Experts

U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s newly appointed vaccine advisory committee has wasted no time in signaling a radical shift in federal immunization policy, alarming pediatricians and public health advocates. In its inaugural meeting this week, the reshaped Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) announced inquiries into long-settled questions regarding the standard children’s vaccine schedule, sparking immediate backlash.

Committee chairman Martin Kulldorff, a handpicked appointee of Kennedy, revealed plans for a work group to evaluate the “cumulative effect” of the entire childhood immunization schedule. Additionally, specific scrutiny will be applied to the administration of the hepatitis B vaccine and the combined chickenpox-MMR shot. These moves come after Kennedy, a prominent anti-vaccine activist before his current role, controversially dismissed the entire 17-member expert panel this month, replacing them with a group that includes several voices critical of established vaccine science.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) swiftly condemned the new direction, announcing it would now publish its own vaccine schedule independently of the ACIP, labeling the committee’s process as “no longer credible.” Dr. Sean O’Leary of the AAP emphasized, “The narrative that current vaccine policies are flawed and need ‘fixing’ is a distortion. These policies have saved trillions of dollars and millions of lives.”

Further complicating matters, Kennedy had already bypassed the panel to announce that COVID-19 vaccines would no longer be recommended for healthy children or pregnant women, despite CDC scientists presenting data to the committee reinforcing the vaccines’ protective benefits, particularly for at-risk groups. The new advisers also questioned the trustworthiness of real-world vaccine safety data.

The meeting also saw a vote on new RSV protections postponed until Thursday, and a contentious debate expected on the use of thimerosal, a preservative in some flu shots falsely linked to autism by anti-vaccine groups. A CDC report debunking this link, posted in preparation for the meeting, was notably removed from the committee’s website on Wednesday afternoon. The swift and controversial actions of the new ACIP underscore a profound shift in U.S. vaccine policy, raising concerns across the medical community regarding public health and vaccine accessibility.

阅读中文版 (Read Chinese Version)

Disclaimer: This content is aggregated from public sources online. Please verify information independently. If you believe your rights have been infringed, contact us for removal.