A general view of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia.Tami Chappell | ReutersA crucial government panel of vaccine advisors is holding its first meeting Wednesday since Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appointed several vaccine critics to the group. Earlier this month, Kennedy in a stunning step removed and replaced all members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, which advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The group reviews vaccine data and makes recommendations that determine who is eligible for shots and whether insurers should cover them, among other efforts.ACIP members are independent medical and public experts who make recommendations based on rigorous scientific review and evidence. It is unclear how Kennedy’s new members, given some of their skepticism of immunizations, will affect vaccine policy and availability in the U.S. “Vaccines are not all good or bad,” Dr. Martin Kulldorff, the new ACIP chair, said in opening remarks.”If you think that all vaccines are safe and effective and want them all, or if you think that all vaccines are dangerous and don’t want any of them, then you don’t have much use for us. You already know what you want,” said Kulldorff, a biostatistician and epidemiologist who questioned lockdowns and other public health measures early in the Covid-19 pandemic.”But if you wish to know which vaccines are suitable for you and your children and at what ages, then we will provide you with evidence-based recommendations,” he added.During a full-day meeting Wednesday in Atlanta, the panel will evaluate data on Covid-19 vaccines and RSV shots, with a vote on recommendations for the latter. The group will convene again on Thursday to review data on shots for the flu and other diseases. The CDC director has to sign off on those recommendations for them to become official policy.Kulldorff said ACIP will create new work groups, which are staff that review published and unpublished data and develop recommendation options to present to the committee. One new work group will review the childhood vaccine schedule, while another will examine shots that have not …
