Could Kennedy's vaccine advisory board purge lead to reduced vaccine choice?

TNS/ABACA/TNS/ABACA via Reuters Connect / X07115

On June 9, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. fired all 17 members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, saying the board has lost public trust and this was the only way to restore it.

The reaction from public health experts across the country was immediate, and for many, that reaction was outrage and concern over what this might signal about the future of public health in the United States.

Rekha Lakshmanan, chief strategy officer for The Immunization Partnership, is among them. She told Petrie Dish host Bonnie Petrie that Kennedy's purge destabilizes the carefully constructed vaccine infrastructure that has helped defeat diseases like smallpox, polio, and — for a long time — measles. States craft their vaccine policies using the recommendations made by ACIP, and if the board changes its recommendations, many states will change their vaccine schedules, which could lead to a patchwork of access across the country, Lakshmanan said. "We could potentially see cherry picking of some vaccines on the immunization schedule and some vaccines not on the immunization schedule."

If that occurs, Lakshmanan warned that insurance companies may stop covering certain vaccines. Manufacturers may stop making them. This could make some immunizations unaffordable for many families and others unavailable, Lakshmanan explained. This would limit access, which Lakshmanan said would impact everyone, including her. "Personally, I want to get my yearly flu shot. I, when the time comes, I want to get my shingles shot," Lakshmanan said. "That could impede my ability and my freedom to choose to be vaccinated."

Kennedy said that he had to clean house because the board was compromised by conflicts of interest — a claim that NPR chased down and found to be false — but he stands by it. Lakshmanan called that a "red herring," saying the process that led to an ACIP appointment was rigorous. "There has always been an intensive vetting process for ACIP members before they are put on the committee," she stressed.

Kennedy has appointed eight people to replace the 17 he purged. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, which is the largest professional association of pediatricians in the United States, the new advisors represent a radical departure from the committee’s mission. The new board meets at the end of the month.