United States: Robert Kennedy Jr. fires all experts on vaccine committee
The Donald Trump administration has dealt a fresh blow to US vaccination policy after dismissing the 17 experts who make up the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. announced the decision Monday, June 9, in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal and in a statement. He said the review of the panel's composition is essential to restoring public trust, accusing the panel of being compromised by financial ties to pharmaceutical companies.
"Today, we prioritize restoring public trust over any pro- or anti-vaccine agenda," wrote Kennedy, a notoriously skeptical of vaccine efficacy. "The public needs to know that the recommendations of our health agencies are based on unbiased science, evaluated through a transparent process, and free from conflicts of interest," he added.
"A simple recording room"In his op-ed, Mr. Kennedy claims that the panel is "riddled with persistent conflicts of interest" and has become "just a clearinghouse for any vaccine."
He said new members will replace the outgoing experts. The latter were appointed because of their recognized expertise and were normally required to disclose any potential conflicts of interest in advance. The panel's next meeting is scheduled for June 25-27 at the headquarters of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta.
"We are witnessing an escalation of government efforts to silence independent medical expertise and fuel distrust in life-saving vaccines," Susan Kressly, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said in a statement.
"Firing experts who have spent their lives protecting children from deadly diseases is not reform; it's reckless, sweeping, and rooted in conspiracy theories, not science," Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement. "Wiping out an entire panel of vaccine experts doesn't build trust, it breaks it."
Left-wing Senator Bernie Sanders made the same observation: "When we should be strengthening trust in science and expanding access to health care, this administration is doing exactly the opposite. This is a continuation of Trump and Kennedy's dangerous war on science. This cannot continue," he denounced in a statement.
Robert Kennedy Jr. has been promoting vaccine misinformation for two decades, including the widely debunked claim that the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine causes autism.
Since taking office, he has reduced access to Covid-19 vaccines and continued to sow doubt about the MMR vaccine, even as the United States experiences its worst measles outbreak in years, with three reported deaths and more than 1,100 cases, a figure that experts say may significantly underestimate the true toll.
The World with AFP
Contribute
Reuse this content
