Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s handpicked vaccine recommendation panel has just issued guidance that, if acted on, could overhaul when and how children receive vaccines designed to protect them from dangerous diseases like measles, rubella, and chickenpox.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) met on Thursday. In an 8 to 3 vote, they recommended against the use of the combined measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella (chickenpox) vaccine in children under four. They are instead now recommending that children should only receive two separate vaccines covering these four diseases.
Kennedy’s new guard
The ACIP has traditionally been a panel of independent experts organized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to help steer the country’s vaccine policy. Their recommendations, while non-binding, carry significant weight; many states mandate that children receive all the vaccines recommended by ACIP before entering public school, for instance. But under U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., critics say that ACIP has become a platform for vaccine skepticism.
In early June, Kennedy unilaterally fired all 17 former members of ACIP and then, without any outside review, appointed eight new members, some of whom have previously misrepresented science on vaccine safety or who have financially benefited from attacking vaccines. Kennedy added five new members to the panel earlier this week, including some individuals who have questioned the safety and effectiveness of the covid-19 vaccines.
At the panel’s last meeting in June, in a majority vote, Kennedy’s new members recommended the removal of a mercury-based additive called thimerosal from the very few remaining vaccines that contain it. The recommendation was formally adopted by the government in July. Anti-vaccination proponents have long blamed thimerosal in vaccines for causing autism and other neurological conditions, even after it was phased out from all childhood shots two decades ago out of an abundance of caution. And dozens of studies have since failed to support any link between thimerosal (or, for that matter, any vaccine or specific ingredient) and autism.
Under Kennedy’s leadership, the CDC has been rocked by a series of high-profile departures. The Centers’ director Susan Monarez was reportedly fired for reportedly refusing to support Kennedy’s vaccine agenda—a decision that spurred the resignation of several other senior CDC staff and an unprecedented public display of support from remaining employees.
Monarez testified at a Senate hearing earlier this week, alleging that Kennedy had pressured her to rubber-stamp recommendations from ACIP. She also stated that Kennedy told her that the childhood vaccine schedule was going to change in September and that she needed to be “on board with it.”
What the latest vote means for these vaccines
In what was its second meeting since Kennedy dismissed the former members in June, the panel first debated the safety of the measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella (MMRV) vaccine.
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