Democrats on the Senate Health Committee kicked off an inquiry on Tuesday concerning the Secretary of Health and Human Services, following the dismissal of all members from the CDC’s Vaccine Advisory Panel by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Leading the charge was Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who requested further details on Kennedy’s decision to fire a member of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).
Sanders stated, “By dismissing all 17 ACIP members and replacing them with eight chosen individuals to promote an anti-vaccine agenda, you’ve jeopardized decades of bipartisan, science-oriented work, putting American lives at risk.”
This unprecedented move occurred in June when Kennedy removed all panel members as part of his effort to reshape federal health agencies and vaccine-related policies. He subsequently selected eight replacements, many of whom are known critics of vaccines.
Kennedy alleged that the panelists had corporate ties and suggested they were compromised, although he did not provide concrete evidence to support this claim.
It’s important to note that ACIP members are not political appointees. They are responsible for analyzing data concerning vaccine recommendations. If the CDC Director approves their suggestions, the vaccines must be covered by health insurance, and numerous state laws mandate that schoolchildren receive ACIP-recommended vaccinations.
On Tuesday, lawmakers urged Kennedy to deliver information related to the firings by August 12. They requested specifics about the alleged conflicts of interest for each terminated member, hoping to understand how these differed from previously disclosed conflicts.
Though Kennedy had promised transparency and that ethics forms for the new panelists would be made available prior to last month’s meeting, that did not occur. A searchable database listing ACIP member conflicts shows only two for Kennedy’s selections, while providing much more detailed information for the dismissed members.
Sanders also inquired whether Kennedy plans to appoint additional members to the panel, noting that only seven attended last month’s meeting. In a June interview, Kennedy stated that Health Committee Chairman Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) would allow one of his nominees to join the panel.
Besides Sanders, the letter was co-signed by Democrats Tim Kaine (Virginia), Maggie Hassan (NH), John Hickenlooper (Colorado), Ed Markey (Massachusetts), Andy Kim (New Jersey), Lisa Blunt Rochester (Delaware), and Angela Norbrooks (MD).
Lawmakers mentioned they had launched a partisan investigation after Sanders’ request for a bipartisan inquiry in June was overlooked.
On Tuesday, Cassidy remarked that he hadn’t reviewed the investigation’s objectives, suggesting he could simply pose questions to Kennedy when he next appears before the committee.
“The secretary will come back to us. He was here once, and he’ll be here again,” Cassidy told reporters. “I don’t see what the investigation aims to achieve, since the person who made the decision will be right in front of us to answer questions from the panel.”
