Vaccine Advisory Committee Abolished

RFK Jr announces in the WSJ:

Today, we are taking a bold step in restoring public trust by totally reconstituting the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP). We are retiring the 17 current members of the committee, some of whom were last-minute appointees of the Biden administration. Without removing the current members, the current Trump administration would not have been able to appoint a majority of new members until 2028.

ACIP evaluates the safety, efficacy and clinical need of the nation’s vaccines and passes its findings on to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The committee has been plagued with persistent conflicts of interest and has become little more than a rubber stamp for any vaccine. It has never recommended against a vaccine — even those later withdrawn for safety reasons. It has failed to scrutinize vaccine products given to babies and pregnant women. To make matters worse, the groups that inform ACIP meet behind closed doors, violating the legal and ethical principle of transparency crucial to maintaining public trust.

I used to complain about this committee. It is a sham. There was not even any attempt at balanced or open analysis.

At one point I got the ACIP Charter, and it stated its purpose as promoting vaccines! Not promoting health or safety.

One time I got some meeting minutes, and members said that they should endorse any (FDA approved) vaccine, because that insures free shots for poor people.