All 17 members of ACIP, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, have just published an article in JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) highlighting their experiences on the committee and their grave concerns about their recent firings by RFK, Jr. and the recent new constitution of the committee.
They begin the article by stressing the importance of vaccines to the achievement of global public health goals, and explain that vaccine recommendations have been instrumental in vastly decreasing and/or eradicating a large number of diseases across the globe, including smallpox, polio, measles, and many more. Vaccines have helped spare millions of hospitalizations and hundreds of thousands of deaths in the United States alone.
The article then outlines the crucial role of ACIP, which has, for over 60 years, been comprised of experts in relevant fields – including immunology, epidemiology, pediatrics, obstetrics, internal and family medicine, geriatrics, infectious diseases, and public health – who have provided guidance and recommendations to the CDC regarding FDA-authorized vaccines, vaccine schedules, and more. Indeed, they explain that "ACIP recommendations are the cornerstone of the immunization p rogram in this country" and crucially affect not only access to and the administration of vaccines but also how insurance companies provide coverage for vaccines.
Up until last week, when RFK, Jr. fired everyone and appointed an entirely new membership, ACIP committee members have been leaders in their fields with deep knowledge and understanding of immunology, vaccines, and immunization issues and have been selected through a rigorous vetting process. The article states that ACIP members have traditionally been dedicated to making sure vaccines policies were "grounded in scientific evidence, aligned with the needs of economically, socially, and medically diverse US communities, and always considered the public value, trust, and acceptability of vaccines.
However, this all abruptly changed last week when HHS Secretary RFK, Jr. fired all 17 members of ACIP and appointed eight new members, most of whom are anti-vaccine activists who actively spread health misinformation.
None of these new members have gone through the formerly-standard application and review process, which typically has included letters of support from peers and other experts, an interview process, background checks, disclosures of financial conflicts of interests, and more. The article details that the nomination, review, and appointment process has, in the past, taken up to two years. But RFK, Jr. has sidestepped all of that and appointed a slew of board members who have been described by vaccine and public health experts such as Abram Wagner of University of Michigan's school of public health as not having "the technical capacity that we would expect out of people who would have to make really complicated decisions involving interpreting complicated scientific data." Furthermore, many of the new board members are actively anti-vaccine, run wellness and supplement companies, spread conspiracy theories and misinformation about vaccines and other aspects of public health, and more.
The article then details the amount of work that ACIP members typically undertake to get ready for meetings, which includes reviewing scientific evidence and meeting with public health officials, all of which ultimately results in final recommendations. The article also emphasizes the public and transparent nature of all of ACIP's work, the ongoing monitoring members agree to regarding conflicts of interest, and other safeguards for public accountability that have, until RFK, Jr.'s tenure, been built into the ACIP system. The article raises grave concerns that the abrupt dismissal of the entire ACIP membership and the appointment of eight new members just two days later "have left the US vaccine program critically weakened." Furthermore, the former ACIP members state that these actions have "stripped the program of the institutional knowledge and continuity that have been essential to its success over decades." They go on:
Notably, the ACIP charter specifies that committee members serve overlapping terms to ensure continuity and avoid precisely the disruption that will now ensue. The termination of all members and its leadership in a single action undermines the committee's capacity to operate effectively and efficiently, aside from raising questions about competence. Compounding these concerns, recent changes to COVID-19 vaccine policy, made directly by the HHS secretary and released on social media, appear to have bypassed the standard, transparent, and evidence-based review process.
They further state that these actions "reflect a troubling disregard for the scientific integrity that has historically guided US immunization strategy" and join other academics, scientists, and other public health experts who have sounded alarm bells:
As former ACIP members, we are deeply concerned that these destabilizing decisions, made without clear rationale, may roll back the achievements of US immunization policy, impact people's access to lifesaving vaccines, and ultimately put US families at risk of dangerous and preventable illnesses.
Luckily these former board members and other health officials and health activists remain committed to public health and are fighting back against the latest moves of RFK, Jr. If you want to learn more and get involved, one immediate action that many, including the public health activists working with the group Organizing for a Better Tomorrow (OFABT) and the X/Twitter show "Brace for Impact," are currently taking involves contacting members of the Senate HELP Committee, among others, and urging them to stop the ACIP meeting that's currently scheduled for June 25-27. Don Ford, lead strategist for OFABT and host of Brace for Impact, explained to me why it's so urgent to stop the next ACIP meeting:
The former members need to be reinstated or the meeting cannot happen as planned, because it's breaking the charter for the committee, among other things. If RFK, Jr. wants to do this, he needs to do it properly, in a phased way, which includes a months-long process to vet these new members. As much as these members should not be on the committee, the way RFK, Jr. is doing it is a bigger problem than the members themselves. He's removed all oversight and turned it into a kangaroo court because he could never pull this off while following the law.
OFABT and Brace for Impact have been engaged in sustained activism around issues of public health, writ large, for over three years now, including being instrumental in reforming ACIP with new members last year. If you want to learn more and get involved, tune into the Brace for Impact show, which usually occurs every Tuesday and Thursday around 6:00 pm, Pacific time.
To learn more about the new appointees, listen to the latest episode of the "We Want Them Infected" podcast, where Dr. Jonathan Howard and Dr. Wendy Orent provide biographical overviews of each new member, many of whom, as they explain, "are tied to disinformation campaigns and anti-vaccine advocacy." And here's another great overview, by epidemiologist Michael Olesen, of the new committee members along with a brief description of how RFK, Jr. misled senators during his confirmation hearing by assuring them he would do nothing that "makes it difficult or discourages" people from taking vaccines. Olesen runs the "Infection Control, Emergency Management, Safety, and General Thoughts" website, where he posts COVID data and other information related to infection prevention, hospital epidemiology, public health, emergency management, and safety.
Read the full letter by former ACIP members here.
Previously:
• It can't just be the brain worm: what the hell is wrong with RFK, Jr?
• RFK Jr and grandkids celebrated mother's day with a swim in a sewage-filled creek
• 'I have a this active measles virus — I just wanna stab everybody' — Jon Hamm steals show as unhinged RFK Jr on SNL
• After delays, Novavax Covid vaccine is on track for full FDA approval
