Axios - By gutting the expert panel that's advised the government on vaccine policy for more than 60 years, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. earned the condemnation of virtually every medical society, as well as former public health officials and local practitioners.
What became immediately clear is that no outside group can immediately step in and fill the vacuum if the public won't trust the reconstituted Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
The distress and lack of organization apparent in health circles yesterday was a sign that a new independent body that could act as a "shadow CDC" to truth-squad the Trump administration isn't close to materializing.
"We
are clearly working on it and we think it's very important, but I don't
think anyone has an answer yet," said Michael Osterholm, director of
the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and
Policy, who's behind one ad hoc effort. "Right now, we're in such
uncharted territory."
The medical establishment has floated ideas such as state-appointed boards or medical specialty associations serving as clearinghouses for information on vaccine safety and efficacy for clinicians.
- California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) during the pandemic created a state entity to review the safety of federally approved COVID-19 vaccines before distributing them to the public.
- But it would be difficult to replicate the professional clout of ACIP, whose recommendations can influence whether insurers cover vaccines.
- That would leave Kennedy's handpicked successors controlling the narrative — a prospect many researchers and physicians think will bring a radical departure from ACIP's evidence-based deliberations on safety and efficacy.
- "Many of us can provide a read of the science, and we can convene formally or informally to create consensus around vaccine recommendations," said Megan Ranney, dean of the Yale School of Public Health. Go deeper
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