疾病控制和预防中心的疫苗咨询委员会将于本周召开会议，这是自卫生与公众服务部部长小罗伯特·F·肯尼迪·r罢免了所有现任成员和任命新的.
免疫实践咨询委员会(ACIP)预计将在秋季对疫苗建议进行投票，并讨论其他疫苗，包括给儿童的疫苗。该组织对美国疫苗政策的制定具有巨大的影响力，包括哪些疫苗将被保险覆盖。
肯尼迪在加入政府之前很久就一直持有许多疫苗怀疑论观点，这些观点被专家和高质量的研究所驳斥，但他坚持认为自己不是“反疫苗”，而是“支持安全”。
然而，肯尼迪已经开始拆除保护一些儿科疫苗的护栏。一些公共卫生专业人士担心ACIP即将提出的建议会成为肯尼迪声称的减少某些疫苗获取的更大目标的一部分。
布朗大学公共卫生学院卫生服务、政策和实践副教授克雷格·斯潘塞博士告诉美国广播公司新闻说:“他掌握着所有的控制权，他有令人难以置信的能力来彻底改变这个国家的疫苗获取和可用性，我和许多其他人相信他无疑会这样做。”。
在一份声明中，HHS的发言人说，“肯尼迪部长正在重建ACIP，让高度可信的医生、科学家和公共卫生专家致力于循证医学、黄金标准科学和常识，从而恢复公众的信任。”
参与儿童健康保护
在成为HHS国务卿的几年前，Kennedy领导了儿童健康保护组织(CHD ),这是一个致力于反疫苗事业的组织。
在担任CHD主席期间，Kennedy重复了毫无根据的说法，即疫苗会导致自闭症，硫柳汞是一种广泛用于疫苗的汞基防腐剂，是不安全的。
该组织继续在反疫苗圈子中施加影响，正如今年在德克萨斯州爆发麻疹期间所看到的那样，特别是在门诺派社区。
CHD播出了对这两个门诺派家庭的采访谁的小孩死于麻疹在疫情中。在采访中，两个家庭都声称他们的孩子没有死于麻疹，并表示他们不支持接种疫苗。
肯尼迪在2023年竞选总统期间辞去了CHD董事会的职务。但是，当肯尼迪4月份去德克萨斯州会见受麻疹爆发影响的家庭时，他在x上分享了两个相互矛盾的信息。
在……里头遍熄灯号，肯尼迪称麻疹疫苗是“防止麻疹传播的最有效方法”
在……里第二帖那天晚上晚些时候，肯尼迪说，他会见了两位医生，他们分别用雾化布地奈德和克拉霉素(一种类固醇和一种抗生素)“治疗和治愈”了门诺派社区约300名感染麻疹的儿童，这两种药物都不是麻疹治疗药物。
“[肯尼迪]基本上回到[CHD]来说，‘看，我必须发布一个帖子，说明他们希望我成为什么样的人，以及我在这个角色中应该是什么样的人。但是这里有一个帖子向你们展示我到底是谁，我到底在为什么而战，”斯潘塞说。"我认为这对许多冠心病患者来说非常重要."
小RFK成为HHS的秘书
在他的确认听证会上，肯尼迪说他支持疫苗，他不是“反疫苗”而是“支持安全”。
然而，在整个听证会上，他拒绝说疫苗与自闭症无关，同时仍然坚持他支持疫苗接种。
“因此，从他过去采取的行动和发表的声明来看，他似乎并不支持疫苗接种，”美国内科医生学院院长、非加太集团与ACIP的联络人、该学院免疫委员会成员以及疾病预防控制中心下属肺炎和冠状病毒肺炎疫苗工作组成员杰森·m·戈德曼博士说19。
“他的声明似乎明显矛盾，一方面试图促进公共卫生和福利，另一方面削弱我们预防疾病的一个非常基本和基础的工具，”高盛补充说。
在他的确认听证会上，肯尼迪还承诺不会撤销疾病预防控制中心ACIP委员会的现有成员——后来当肯尼迪撤销其现任成员时，这一承诺被打破。拜登政府任命了ACIP的所有17名现任成员，包括2024年的13名成员。
开放CDC主管角色
特朗普政府最初提名大卫·魏尔东博士担任CDC主任，他被认为与肯尼迪关系密切，此前曾提出疫苗会导致自闭症的错误观点，这一说法早就被几十年来无数大规模的研究揭穿了。之后，他的提名被撤回有消息称他没有足够的票数待确认。
由于代理主任的职位空缺，肯尼迪对疾控中心的一些决定拥有最终决定权。来自特拉华州的民主党参议员丽莎·布朗特·罗切斯特(Lisa Blunt Rochester)在5月份的参议院听证会上公开呼吁有必要填补空缺职位。
“让我说清楚:疾控中心主任的缺位是一个严重的公共卫生风险，”布朗特说在一份声明中说。“疾病预防控制中心主任是唯一有权做出影响数百万美国人的关键决定的人。该主任负责协调应对新出现的传染病疫情——在我国20多年来最大的麻疹疫情中，这一点现在比以往任何时候都更加重要。”
苏珊·莫纳雷斯博士，政府新挑选的疾病预防控制中心主任，将于本周出席确认听证会。
“目前没有代理疾病预防控制中心主任，所以这意味着这些决定都属于小RFK的权限范围内，”斯潘塞说。“他能够做只有疾病预防控制中心主任才能做的所有事情:批准疫苗，重建ACIP。”
围绕冠状病毒肺炎疫苗的变化
在成为HHS国务卿之前，肯尼迪在新冠肺炎疫情传播错误信息，谎称冠状病毒肺炎疫苗是危险的。
自从他成为HHS的负责人以来，联邦卫生机构在冠状病毒肺炎疫苗方面发生了重大变化。
5月下旬，FDA宣布计划限制65岁及以上老人和其他健康状况不佳的人使用未来冠状病毒肺炎。
此外，该机构表示，它将允许疫苗制造商进行大型研究，以评估冠状病毒肺炎疫苗在儿童和年轻健康成人中的安全性和有效性。
大约一周后，肯尼迪削减COVD-19疫苗建议为了“健康儿童和孕妇”,没有经过委员会的投票，而是在X上而不是通过官方的联邦渠道发布公告，打破了传统，震惊了医生。
“根据社交媒体上的一篇帖子做出的不允许孕妇和儿童接种疫苗的决定不是科学的执行方式。第二个事实是，他在没有证据、科学、研究或事实的情况下，武断地、单方面地决定改变疫苗计划，这是令人憎恶的。
改造ACIP
本月早些时候，肯尼迪撤换了ACIP所有17名现任成员，并任命了8名新成员，其中一些人一直是枪击事件的批评者——特别是在新冠肺炎疫情期间。
新的八名成员似乎在医学、公共卫生、流行病学和统计学方面有很强的资历，但与以前的委员会相比，不太重视免疫学、病毒学和疫苗学方面的资历。
新成员之一Robert Malone博士——他对mRNA疫苗技术做出了一些早期贡献——在新冠肺炎疫情期间散布错误信息，声称人们被“催眠”去相信关于新冠肺炎的主流观点，比如疫苗接种。
另一位新任命的成员Retsef Levi此前与佛罗里达州医务总监的Joseph Ladapo博士一起发表了关于新冠肺炎疫苗的非同行审查研究，表明健康人已经死于注射，这种说法没有证据支持。
戈德曼指出，他担任ACIP的联络员已经超过五年，帮助审查数据和形成疫苗建议，但他表示，他和其他联络委员会成员这次被排除在这一过程之外，没有沟通或接触不到会议材料。
“我担心的是这个过程没有被遵循。没有透明度。我们没有得到任何信息，”他说。
在一份声明中，HHS的发言人说，“部长无意限制疫苗的获得，但要确保所有疫苗和医疗干预措施遵守最高的安全标准。肯尼迪部长认为，美国人民有权获得充分的透明度，以便就他们的健康做出真正知情的决定。
新成员将出席ACIP会议并将对几种疫苗的新建议进行投票，包括RSV疫苗和流感疫苗。
“在他们被迫辞职之前，ACIP上的人都是不可思议的、了不起的人，他们都是伟大的科学家，”斯潘塞说。“任何关注这次(会议)的人都会看到，这是一个虚伪和可耻的过程。对于一个结构良好、定义明确并有助于创建安全护栏的流程来说，这是一个愚蠢的替代方案。”
ACIP的新成员是否会进一步限制现有的疫苗还有待观察。
Experts warn RFK Jr. is unraveling the system that kept vaccines safe
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory committee is set to meet this week for the first time since Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. removed all of its sitting membersandappointed new ones.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is expected to vote on vaccine recommendations for the fall as well as discuss other vaccines, including those given to children. The group wields enormous influence setting vaccine policy in the United States, including which vaccines will be covered by insurance.
Kennedy has long held many vaccine-skeptic views, refuted by experts and high-quality studies, long before he joined the administration, but he has insisted he is not “anti-vaccine” and rather “pro-safety.”
Kennedy, however, has begun removing guardrails protecting some pediatric vaccines. Some public health professionals are worried the ACIP’s upcoming recommendations will be part of Kennedy’s purported larger goal to reduce access to certain vaccines.
“He holds all of the reins, and he has an unbelievable ability to drastically change the access and availability of vaccines in this country, something that I and many others believe he is undoubtedly going to do,” Dr. Craig Spencer, an associate professor of the practice of health services, policy and practice at Brown University School of Public Health, told ABC News.
In a statement, an HHS spokesperson said, “Secretary Kennedy is restoring public trust by reconstituting ACIP with highly credentialed doctors, scientists, and public health experts committed to evidence-based medicine, gold-standard science, and common sense.”
Involvement with Children’s Health Defense
Years before becoming HHS secretary, Kennedy led Children’s Health Defense (CHD), a group that pursues anti-vaccine causes.
During his time as chair of CHD, Kennedy repeated unfounded claims that vaccines cause autism and that thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative that had been widely used in vaccines, was unsafe.
The group has continued to exert influence in anti-vaccine circles as seen during the measles outbreak in Texas this year, particularly among the Mennonite community.
CHD aired interviews with the two Mennonite familieswhose young children died from measlesin the outbreak. In the interviews, both families claimed their children did not die from measles and said they did not support vaccination.
Kennedy has resigned from the board of CHD during his run for the presidency in 2023. But when Kennedy went to Texas in April to meet families affected by the measles outbreak, he shared two contradictory messages on X.
In thefirst post, Kennedy called the measles vaccine “the most effective way to prevent the spread of measles.”
In thesecond postlater that evening, Kennedy said he met with two physicians who "treated and healed" about 300 children infected with measles in the Mennonite community with aerosolized budesonide and clarithromycin -- a steroid and an antibiotic, respectively, and neither of which are treatments for measles.
“[Kennedy] basically came back to [CHD] to say, ‘Look, I had to put out a post of who they want me to be and who I'm supposed to be in this role. But here's a post to show you all who I really am and what I'm really fighting for,’” Spencer said. “And I think that was really profoundly important for a lot of CHD people.”
RFK Jr. becomes HHS Secretary
During his confirmation hearings, Kennedy said he supports vaccines and that he is not “anti-vaccine” but “pro-safety.”
However, throughout the hearings, he refused to say that vaccines were not linked to autism, while still insisting he supports vaccination.
"So it does not appear that he supports vaccination by the actions he has taken and the statements he has made in the past,” said Dr. Jason M. Goldman, president of the American College of Physicians, ACP’s liaison to the ACIP, and a member of the college’s immunization committee and CDC-affiliated vaccine workgroups on pneumonia and COVID‑19.
“His statements seem apparently contradictory in trying to promote public health and welfare yet undercutting one of our very basic and foundational tools for prevention of disease,” Goldman added.
During his confirmation hearing, Kennedy also pledged not to remove the existing members of the CDC's ACIP committee -- a promise that was later broken when Kennedy removed its sitting members. The Biden administration had appointed all 17 sitting members of the ACIP, including 13 in 2024.
Open CDC Director Role
The Trump administration initially nominated Dr. David Weldon for CDC director, who was considered closely aligned with Kennedy and had previously stated the false idea that vaccines cause autism, a claim that has been long debunked by numerous, large-scale studies over the course of decades. His nomination was withdrawn aftersources said he didn’t have the votesto be confirmed.
With the acting director position open, Kennedy has had final say over some CDC decisions. Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester, a Democrat from Delaware, publicly called out the need to fill the open role in a May Senate hearing.
“Let me be clear: the absence of a CDC Director is a serious public health risk,” Bluntsaid in a statement. “The Director of the CDC has the sole authority to make critical decisions that affect millions of Americans. The Director is responsible for coordinating the response to emerging infectious disease outbreaks – which is now more important than ever, in the midst of our country’s largest measles outbreak in over two decades.”
Dr. Susan Monarez, the administration’s new pick for CDC director, will be at confirmation hearings this week.
“There is currently no acting CDC director, and so that means that these decisions all fall within the purview of RFK Jr.,” Spencer said. “He is able to do all of the things that only a CDC director would otherwise be able to do: to sign off on vaccines, to reconstitute ACIP.”
Changes around COVID vaccines
Prior to becoming HHS secretary, Kennedy spread misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic, falsely claiming the COVID vaccine is dangerous.
Since he became head of HHS, there have been major changes at federal health agencies related to COVID vaccines.
In late May, the FDA announced it was planning to limit access to future COVID to those aged 65 and older and others with underling health conditions.
Additionally, the agency said it would allow vaccine manufacturers to conduct large studies to assess the safety and efficacy of COVID vaccines in children and younger, healthy adults.
About a week later, Kennedycut COVD-19 vaccine recommendationsfor "healthy children and pregnant women" without a vote from the committee and posted the announcement on X rather than through official federal channels, in a break with tradition and stunning doctors.
“The decision to not allow pregnant women and children to get vaccinated based on a social-media post is not how science is conducted. And the second is the fact that he arbitrarily, unilaterally, without evidence, science, research or fact decides to change a vaccine schedule is abhorrent,” Goldman said.
Revamping ACIP
Earlier this month, Kennedy removed all 17 sitting members of the ACIP and appointed eight new members, some of whom have been critics of shots -- especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The new eight members appear to have strong credentials related to medicine, public health, epidemiology and statistics, but with less of an emphasis on credentials related to immunology, virology and vaccinology in comparison with previous committees.
One of the new members, Dr. Robert Malone -- who made some early contributors to mRNA vaccine technology -- spread misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic,claiming people were "hypnotized"into believing mainstream ideas about COVID-19, such as vaccination.
Retsef Levi, another newly appointed member, has previously published non-peer reviewed research alongside Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo on COVID-19 vaccines, suggesting healthy people have died from the shots, claims that are not backed by evidence.
Goldman pointed out that he has served as a liaison to the ACIP for more than five years, helping review data and shape vaccine recommendations, but says he and other liaison committee members have been shut out of the process this time with no communication or access to meeting materials.
“What’s concerning to me is the process is not being followed. There’s no transparency. We’re not being given information,” he said.
In a statement, an HHS spokesperson said, "The Secretary has no intention of restricting access to vaccines, but to ensure all vaccines and medical interventions adhere to the highest standards of safety. Secretary Kennedy believes the American people deserve full transparency to make truly informed decisions about their health.”
The new members will be at theACIP meetingand will vote on new recommendations for several vaccines, including RSV vaccines and influenza vaccines.
“The folks that were on ACIP prior to their forced resignation were all incredible, wonderful people, and they were all great scientists,” Spencer said. “Anybody that follows this [meeting] is going to see that it is a sham and a shameful process. It is a silly replacement for a process that was well-structured, well defined, and helped create guardrails of safety.”
It remains to be seen whether the new ACIP members will move to place further limits on existing vaccines.
