Kennedy picks new members for US CDC vaccine panel, document shows

WASHINGTON – US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr has chosen seven new members for the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) panel of vaccine experts, an internal CDC document showed on Sept 3.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has directed the CDC to name the new members to its Advisory Committee on Immunisation Practices (ACIP), according to the document, which was seen by Reuters.

Inside Medicine, a Substack blog, reported on the new ACIP members earlier on Sept 3.

Mr Kennedy fired all 17 members of the panel in June and replaced them with eight hand-picked advisers, though one has since left the panel.

The move by Mr Kennedy, a long-time critic of vaccines, raised concerns about whether the panel’s independence in vaccine recommendations might be compromised.

Among the seven prospective members named in the document is Dr Raymond Pollak, a semi-retired transplant surgeon with a background in immunology who confirmed he has been asked to serve on the panel.

“I’m being considered pending the vetting process. If I were offered the position, I would think carefully about it,” he said.

Others include Dr Joseph Fraiman, an emergency medicine specialist in New Orleans; Dr John Gaitanis, a pediatric neurologist; Ms Catherine Stein, an epidemiology professor; Ms Hillary Blackburn, a pharmacist; and Dr Evelyn Griffin, an obstetrician-gynecologist.

None could be reached for comment.

Dr Kirk Milhoan, a paediatric cardiologist, referred calls to the HHS. An HHS spokesperson declined to comment.

The ACIP is a panel of outside advisers to the CDC who deliberate and vote on who should receive vaccines and on what schedule after approval by the US Food and Drug Administration. ACIP recommendations are used by insurance companies as a basis for coverage.

The group is expected to meet on Sept 18, and could vote on shots for hepatitis B, measles-mumps-rubella-varicella and respiratory syncytial virus, according to the US Federal Register.

Typically, the CDC director has final approval on their recommendations. Last week, however, CDC director Susan Monarez was fired after resisting changes to vaccine policy that were advanced by Mr Kennedy.

Through a spokesperson, Ms Monarez said she was asked to rubber stamp the committee’s recommendations. Her firing sparked the resignations of three top CDC officials, who cited anti-vaccine policies pushed by Mr Kennedy. REUTERS