Kennedy Pulls Planned Charter for Expiring Vaccine Panel

The Department of Health and Human Services has withdrawn a notice of committee charter renewal it filed last month that would have relaxed the rules under which Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appoints members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory committee amid concerns it could hurt Republicans in the midterm elections.The new charter would have changed the requirements for members of the committee to make it easier for Mr. Kenney to appoint vaccine skeptics and advisory groups that have opposed vaccines. It would have also expanded the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice’s focus to discuss alleged vaccine injuries.Mr. Kennedy fired all of the previous members on the committee last year and replaced many of them with members who share his long-held skepticism on the safety of vaccines.Among the recommendations the committee made last year was to reclassify the Covid vaccine for those under age 65 as a matter of “shared clinical decision-making” — making it an individual’s personal choice to receive the vaccine rather than a recommendation. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also no longer recommend the vaccine for healthy pregnant women. An overhaul of the vaccine schedule for children in the United States that was endorsed by the panel removed Covid vaccines from the list.The panel’s charter expired last month and the renewal charter was filed shortly after a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction against actions by the committee, saying Mr. Kennedy likely violated federal rules with his hand-picked appointments. Judge Brian E. Murphy ordered Mr. Kennedy’s appointments to the panel be put on hold.In a filing posted this week on the Federal Register, the Health and Human Services Department announced it was withdrawing the new charter due to an “administrative error” because it didn’t follow the requirements on public notification. The filing asked the federal government to reestablish the committee, calling it essential to the health agency’s functions.A new version of the charter has not been publicly released but it is expected to say that the committee should include members with a balanced range of scientific, clinical, and public health expertise. It also strikes the requirements for a toxicologist and a data scientist to be on the committee, Reuters reported.The wording of the replacement charter was reportedly directed by top White House officials. The Trump administration has sought to rein in Mr. Kennedy’s vaccine changes because of concerns they could hurt Republicans in the midterm election. Polls show that voters remain in favor of strong vaccine programs and a majority reject claims that they can alter a user’s DNA or cause autism.A memo published by an administration pollster warned Republicans that voters in both parties showed broad support for vaccines. Candidates are being told to focus on promoting more popular policies like the new food pyramid.The vaccine panel is scheduled to meet in June. It is unclear whether the department will reinstitute the committee in time for the meeting.

Kennedy Pulls Planned Charter for Expiring Vaccine Panel

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