The CDC has removed physician groups, public health professionals and infectious disease experts from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ working groups, Bloomberg reported Aug. 1.
Here are four things to know:
1. Under the change, external experts will be excluded from the ACIP’s working groups, but they will still be able to participate in open public meetings, according to a CDC email obtained by Bloomberg. Traditionally, the working groups helped review vaccine data and develop recommendations.
“It is important that the ACIP workgroup activities remain free of influence from any special interest groups, so ACIP workgroups will no longer include liaison organizations,” the email said. It also said the groups were biased “based on their constituency and/or population that they represent.”
2. Some private groups will also be excluded from private deliberations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Infectious Diseases Society of America. These groups sued HHS Secretary Robert J. Kennedy Jr. this month over his unilateral decision to change federal COVID vaccine recommendations for children and patients.
3. The announcement comes two days after Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and other members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee said they are investigating Mr. Kennedy’s decision to fire all 17 members of the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee.
4. In June, HHS terminated all 17 members of ACIP and appointed eight new members to the CDC panel.
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