RFK Jr. firing of CDC vaccine advisors effects on public health

HHS on Monday didn’t provide a timeline for when it’ll appoint latest members. However the agency in a release said ACIP will still hold a planned meeting from June 25 to 27. A source accustomed to the matter, who requested anonymity to talk freely, told CNBC on Monday that entirely latest members will run that meeting.

In an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal on Monday, Kennedy claimed that the present ACIP panel has been “plagued with persistent conflicts of interest and has turn into little greater than a rubber stamp for any vaccine.”

But those allegations are “completely unfounded” and can have a “significant negative impact on Americans of all ages,” Tina Tan, president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, said in an emailed statement. 

She said ACIP is a highly qualified group of experts that has “all the time operated with transparency and a commitment to protecting the general public’s health.” 

All HHS agencies and their advisory panels have also long had rigorous policies for conflicts of interest, and there have been no related issues for years. Members of federal vaccine advisory committees are already required to comply with regulations around disclosing potential conflicts of interest.

“The secretary is using conflicts of interest as a ruse to disregard or cherry pick scientific evidence,” Gostin said. “ACIP members fully disclose all potential conflicts and excuse themselves from voting if there are any perceived conflicts.”

In a press release Tuesday, the American Academy of Physician Associates said it’s “imperative that the administration acts promptly to reconstruct the committee through an open and transparent process that features diverse provider voices,” including physician associates. 

But Northeastern’s Maniar said he would not be surprised if Kennedy taps political appointees who share his views around vaccine science. 

That could lead on to recommendations that restrict who’s eligible for various vaccinations or give way more leeway for people to make your mind up whether to get immunized, Maniar said. He added that Kennedy’s restacked panel will want to take an extended time frame to vet certain vaccines before they turn into available, delaying the time it takes for them to achieve patients. 

“It’s definitely inside the realm of possibility that we’ll see lower vaccination rates consequently of this,” Maniar said.

That might increase the danger of vaccine-preventable diseases spreading because the U.S. is already grappling with an unprecedented measles outbreak and is heading right into a summer season of more travel and crowding, in response to Maniar. The brand new panel’s recommendations may also be crucial for youngsters because the nation approaches a brand new school yr in the autumn. 

Kennedy’s decision contradicts a promise he made to Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican and chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, during his confirmation hearings. Kennedy told Cassidy, who forged the deciding vote to advance his nomination through the committee at the moment, that he wouldn’t alter ACIP.

On Monday, Cassidy said in a post on X that the fear is now that “ACIP shall be filled up with individuals who know nothing about vaccines except suspicion.” But he said he’ll proceed to speak with Kennedy to “ensure this shouldn’t be the case.”

Some Wall Street analysts also said the move is a risk to vaccine manufacturers, which depend upon federal agencies just like the Food and Drug Administration and the CDC to approve and recommend their products. 

“At worst, the committee could upend current recommendations for [new] and existing vaccines,” Leerink Partners analyst Daina Graybosch said in a note Monday. But she noted that the firm cannot fully quantify the impact of the move before seeing who will replace the present panel.

In a note Monday, BMO Capital Markets analyst Evan Seigerman said Kennedy’s decision is “a negative headwind” to vaccine manufacturers, as latest appointees are more likely to be more critical of future recommendations. 

But he said he expects “most impacts to be broadly muted.” Seigerman pointed to Kennedy’s picks to guide the FDA and its division that regulates biological products, the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, noting the last word selection for every seat didn’t reflect a “doomsday” scenario. 

FDA Commissioner Marty Makary and CBER head Vinay Prasad have thus far been “less negative for the sector than initially feared,” he said. 

“While RFK Jr.’s commentary surrounding vaccines has been consistently critical, we imagine this has been well established with realistic headwinds largely priced in by the market,” Seigerman said.