The Department of Health and Human Services resurrected a long-dormant task force on childhood vaccines on Thursday, another step in the Trump administration’s efforts to scrutinize the shots that American children receive.
The group, the Task Force on Safer Childhood Vaccines, was created after Congress passed the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986, the same law that established a “vaccine court” to adjudicate claims of injuries caused by immunizations. The task force was disbanded in 1998.
Children’s Health Defense, the anti-vaccine group founded by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., financed a lawsuit against Mr. Kennedy in his capacity as health secretary arguing that the task force was an essential part of his duties to promote safer childhood vaccines.
Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health, said in a statement, “By reinstating this Task Force, we are reaffirming our commitment to rigorous science, continuous improvement, and the trust of American families.”
“N.I.H. is proud to lead this effort to advance vaccine safety and support innovation that protects children without compromise,” he said. The health department said it would submit the task force’s first formal report to Congress within two years, with updates every two years thereafter.
Experts in vaccines said they supported the general goal of making vaccines even better. But they worried that the public may get a false message that vaccines are currently dangerous.
Dr. Eric Rubin, editor in chief of The New England Journal of Medicine and an adviser to the Food and Drug Administration on vaccines, said he hoped the task force would not “overemphasize potential, and very theoretical, risks over the benefits” of childhood immunizations.
In the United States, childhood vaccines have saved more than 1.1 million lives and prevented 32 million hospitalizations among children born between 1994 and 2003, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Vaccines have also saved $2.7 trillion in societal costs.
“For 99.99999 percent of the kids, vaccines are a huge win and critical for their healthy growth and development,” said Dr. Ofer Levy, director of the precision vaccines program at Boston Children’s Hospital and an adviser to the F.D.A. “How do we avoid throwing the baby out with the bath water?” he said.
The task force will be represented by senior leaders from the N.I.H., the F.D.A. and the C.D.C., the health department said. Dr. Bhattacharya will serve as its chairman.
Having those members on the panel is “reassuring,” Dr. Rubin said. But its actions may depend on who else is appointed: “I hope that they get people who are well-trained and thoughtful.”
Benjamin Mueller contributed reporting.
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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