Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s revamped vaccine advisory panel has already suffered a setback after one of his handpicked members quit ahead of the group’s first major meeting.
Dr. Michael Ross, one of the eight newly appointed panelists, was no longer listed on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s official list of voting members ahead of the panel’s two-day meeting beginning Wednesday, the New York Times reported.
The abrupt departure marks a humiliating early blow to the Health and Human Services chief’s controversial efforts to overhaul the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which reports to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on vaccine efficacy.
REUTERS
Two weeks ago, Kennedy, a longtime vaccine skeptic, went on a firing spree, saying he was “retiring” all 17 members of the advisory committee on vaccines in a “bold step” to help restore “public trust.” The move raised alarm bells at a time when health experts fear vaccine skepticism is fueling the nation’s largest measles outbreak in around 25 years.
It’s unclear why Ross, a Virginia-licensed physician and former professor of obstetrics and gynecology, quit before the committee’s first proper meeting.
Andrew Nixon, an HHS spokesperson, initially denied the report on Tuesday afternoon, telling the Times that no members had withdrawn. Those reports were “untrue” and “completely false”, he said.
But within hours, Nixon reversed course. “Dr. Michael Ross decided to withdraw from A.C.I.P. during the financial holdings review required of members before they can start work on the committee,” he said.
“The sacrifice to serve on A.C.I.P. varies from member to member, and we appreciate Dr. Ross’s willingness to go through this rigorous process,” he added.
The Daily Beast has contacted HHS for additional comment.
The resignation is the latest controversy to hit Kennedy’s reshaping of federal vaccine policy.
Since joining the Trump administration in January, Kennedy, who is leading the administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” initiative, has doubled down on conspiracy theories around vaccines, including that the measles jab contain “aborted fetus debris.”
His decision to gut ACIP has been widely criticized by public health experts.
On June 10, The Wall Street Journal published a scathing op-ed ripping into Kennedy for firing all 17 members of the advisory committee. He justified the move at the time by saying they had all received substantial funding from pharmaceutical companies, including those marketing vaccines, hinting at a plot to push vaccines on Americans.
The Journal’s editorial board hit back, noting that trial doctors get small payments, typically less than their salaries, from vaccine makers to assist with clinical trials. The board also pointed out that conflicts of interest among the committee were “honestly handled.”
The ACIP meetings scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday at the CDC’s headquarters are still expected to go ahead, according to the Times.
The committee may be reviewing dozens of shots that contain aluminum ingredients, Bloomberg reported last week, citing a source familiar with the matter.
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