Write an article about RFK Jr. taps eight new members for CDC’s vaccine advisory panel – NBC Chicago .Organize the content with appropriate headings and subheadings (h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6), Retain any existing tags from
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has tapped eight new members to join the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s independent vaccine advisory committee, just two days after firing the previous slate.
The new members include well-known vaccine skeptics and others who have been critical of Covid vaccines or pandemic interventions like lockdowns.
Kennedy said Wednesday on X that the members would convene on June 25 for a scheduled meeting. He referred to them as “highly credentialed scientists, leading public-health experts, and some of America’s most accomplished physicians.”
The list includes Dr. Robert Malone, an anti-vaccine activist who suggested earlier this year, without evidence, that recent pediatric deaths from measles were due to medical error and Vicky Pebsworth, director of research and patient safety at the National Vaccine Information Center, considered a leading source of misinformation about vaccines.
Historically, members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, known more commonly as ACIP, have undergone an extensive vetting process before they were appointed. The panel typically consists of 15 or more members, meaning the meeting in two weeks would be about half the normal size. It was not clear if Kennedy intended to appoint additional members.
The ACIP is normally comprised of pediatricians, geriatricians and other vaccine experts. The group Kennedy selected includes a psychiatrist, epidemiologist and professor of operations management. One newly appointed member, pediatrics professor Dr. Cody Meissner, previously served on ACIP from 2008 to 2012.
The group is meant to analyze the latest data on the safety and efficacy of vaccines, including newly approved inoculations and new data about existing vaccines. The panel offers recommendations to the CDC about who should get certain vaccines, including the schedule for childhood vaccinations. Several times a year the committee holds public meetings where data is presented and reviewed. While the CDC isn’t required to follow the advice, it often does.
Advisory members are also required to disclose conflicts of interest, recusing themselves from voting on vaccines for which conflicts exist. It is not clear if Kennedy has required those disclosures for the new members.
Kennedy said Monday in an editorial in The Wall Street Journal that the ACIP “has been plagued with persistent conflicts of interest and has become little more than a rubber stamp for any vaccine.” Members of the medical community have widely resisted that claim, saying there’s no evidence to support it.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. More from NBC News:
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