▼ Summary
– The committee advising on U.S. vaccine policy has a new chairperson as part of ongoing changes by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
– The previous chair, Martin Kulldorff, is moving to a senior HHS role after gaining prominence for criticizing COVID-19 lockdowns and vaccines.
– Kulldorff and the committee have been accused of making decisions based on ideology, not evidence, such as voting to remove the safe preservative thimerosal from some flu vaccines.
– The committee also added restrictions to an MMRV vaccine and tried to limit access to COVID-19 vaccines, actions denounced by medical groups.
– Kulldorff frequently made false statements about vaccine safety that aligned with Kennedy’s views while chairing the committee.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), a key federal vaccine advisory panel, is undergoing another significant leadership change as it prepares for its upcoming meeting. This shift continues a pattern of instability following Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s earlier dismissal of the committee’s expert members. The Department of Health and Human Services announced that the current chairperson, who has served since June, will transition to a senior departmental role. Replacing them is biostatistician Martin Kulldorff, who will now serve as the chief science officer for a different office within HHS, necessitating his departure from the ACIP.
Kulldorff rose to public attention during the COVID-19 pandemic for his vocal criticism of mainstream public health strategies. He was a prominent co-author of the Great Barrington Declaration, a controversial document that argued for allowing the coronavirus to spread widely to build population immunity, an approach widely condemned by leading health authorities as dangerous and unethical. His appointment to lead the ACIP aligns with Kennedy’s well-known skepticism toward established vaccine science.
During his tenure as committee chair, Kulldorff repeatedly made statements questioning vaccine safety and efficacy that contradicted the overwhelming consensus of the scientific community. Under his leadership, the panel made several decisions that drew sharp rebukes from major medical organizations, which argued the moves were ideologically driven rather than evidence-based. One notable vote was to recommend removing the preservative thimerosal from certain influenza vaccines, despite decades of robust scientific data confirming its safety. The committee also moved to place new restrictions on the combined measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella (MMRV) vaccine and attempted to create barriers for Americans seeking COVID-19 vaccinations, though these latter efforts proved largely ineffective.
The ongoing transformation of this critical advisory body raises significant concerns among public health professionals about the integrity of future vaccine recommendations. The committee’s new direction, guided by figures who challenge long-standing scientific consensus, marks a profound departure from its traditional role of providing independent, evidence-based guidance to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
(Source: Ars Technica)
