R-La. Sen. Bill Cassidy on Monday criticised the pick of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s main federal vaccine advisory board, calling for delays in the group’s next meeting until more members with relevant expertise can be appointed.
Kennedy suddenly fired all 17 members of the Center for the Disease Control and Prevention Advisory Committee on Vaccination Practices this month, replacing them with eight new members, including known vaccine skeptics. The group will meet for the first time on Wednesday and Thursday.
Cassidy, the doctor who chairs the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, was a key vote in confirming Kennedy. He said Kennedy voted for him after making many commitments including not changing ACIP, a highly influential panel that shaped vaccination schedules as a child.
Cassidy expressed concern on Monday with X about the newly appointed member.
“Although ACIP appointees are scientifically qualified, many have no significant experience in studying microbiology, epidemiology or immunology. In particular, some may have preconceived notions about them, including some who have no experience studying new technologies such as mRNA vaccines,” writes Cassidy.
“Wednesday’s meeting should not continue with relatively small panels and do not introduce CDC directors to approve panel recommendations. Meetings should be postponed until the panel has completely staffed with the more robust and balanced expressions required by the law, including people with more direct expertise,” he continued.
Susan Monales, President Donald Trump’s CDC director pick, will hold a confirmation hearing in the Senate on Wednesday. Without the CDC Director, Kennedy has signed up for ACIP recommendations. And last month, without the opinion from ACIP, he announced that the covid vaccine is no longer recommended for healthy children and pregnant women.
The Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the CDC, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon previously defended Kennedy’s ACIP Pick, saying the new panel “contains some of the most skilled physicians in America, including highly qualified scientists, leading public health experts and some of America’s most skilled physicians.”
The draft agenda for this week’s ACIP meeting will include discussion and vote on the flu vaccine, including thimeromonal, a type of mercury that was used as a preservative in several vaccines. Kennedy has long supported the denied claim that there is a link between thimeromonkeys and autism.
Since 2001, almost every vaccine produced in the US does not contain thimeromonkeys or trace amounts. Only shot vials of multidose influenza contain preservatives. Currently, most flu shots come with a single shot package.
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