Members of the federal vaccine panel chosen by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are setting their sights on the next targets: the mRNA Covid shots, and vaccines offered to pregnant women.
The panel, called the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, already has imposed some limits on access to Covid vaccines and has rescinded recommendations for some routine childhood shots.
Several of the panelists have said — contrary to scientific consensus — that they believe the Covid shots are dangerous and should be taken off the market.
In an interview with The New York Times, Dr. Robert Malone, one of the panelists, claimed that the Food and Drug Administration was “hiding” data on the risks of Covid vaccination and had refused to share it despite multiple requests.
“I am trying to force F.D.A. to come clean on that,” he said.
For years, Dr. Malone has contended that the Covid vaccines may be contaminated with fragments of DNA that cause dangerous inflammatory reactions. In January 2024, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, Florida’s surgeon general, cited similar concerns when he called for a halt to the use of the vaccines.
But the F.D.A. addressed these misconceptions in a letter to Dr. Ladapo in 2023, calling the notion of DNA contamination “quite implausible” and “misleading.”
“With over a billion doses of the mRNA vaccines administered, no safety concerns related to residual DNA have been identified,” the agency wrote.
Regulatory agencies in several countries, as well as many independent studies, have addressed claims regarding DNA contaminants in Covid vaccines, concluding that any residual DNA in the vaccines is inactive and the amounts are within acceptable limits.
Those scientists and regulators are “either being disingenuous, or they are not considering the context or are ignorant,” Dr. Malone said.
The members of A.C.I.P. cannot withdraw shots from the market — only the F.D.A. has that authority. Still, by rescinding vaccination recommendations or severely restricting them, the panel can significantly limit insurance coverage and clinical use.
“I’m not deaf to the calls that we need to get the Covid vaccine mRNA products off the market,” Dr. Malone said last month. “All I can say is, stay tuned and wait for the upcoming A.C.I.P. meeting. If the F.D.A. won’t act, there are other entities that will.”
The next A.C.I.P. meeting is scheduled for Feb. 25-27.
Pfizer said in a statement that regulatory authorities in multiple countries had determined that its Covid vaccine “met all safety and quality control guidelines.”
“Small amounts of residual DNA can be found in several approved vaccines, including influenza and hepatitis vaccines, which have been administered globally for more than 30 years,” the company said.
Moderna said it was “not going to comment on disputes between advisory committee members and the F.D.A.”
Some scientists said they were frustrated by Dr. Malone’s ongoing focus on DNA contaminants.
“I saw nothing in Malone’s claims that has not been thoroughly rebutted and debunked over the past four or so years,” said John Moore, a virologist at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York.
The Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the F.D.A., did not respond to requests for comment.
A.C.I.P. also has set up a new work group charged with reviewing all vaccines given to pregnant women.
Mr. Kennedy added two new members to the panel last month, both of them obstetrician-gynecologists who have questioned the safety of shots administered to pregnant women.
One of the new appointees, Dr. Kimberly Biss, has said that the Covid shots cause miscarriages and infertility, despite dozens of studies to the contrary. She has also described herself as an anti-vaxxer and has called vaccine makers “disgusting.”
Dr. Biss did not respond to a request for comment.
The other new member, Dr. Adam Urato, is a maternal-fetal medicine specialist who has recommended that women limit the use of antidepressants when pregnant, a position at odds with current medical standards of care.
Dr. Urato has said that mandating that pregnant and breastfeeding women receive Covid shots was “cruel & inhumane.”
He said last year that the science on vaccines was not “long-settled” and that more research on vaccine safety was needed. In a social media post in 2024, Dr. Urato said there was insufficient information about adverse effects from vaccines given to pregnant women.
In fact, hundreds of studies worldwide have investigated the safety of vaccines given to pregnant women and not found serious concerns.
Dr. Urato and Dr. Biss have both questioned the safety of the flu shot and a combination vaccine for tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis in pregnant women.
“We need to make sure that our vaccine program is characterized by safety and transparency,” he said in a text message to The Times. “The focus can’t be on what’s good for various political groups, medical groups, or the pharmaceutical industry.”
Apoorva Mandavilli reports on science and global health for The Times, with a focus on infectious diseases and pandemics and the public health agencies that try to manage them.
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