US Vaccine Advisory Committee in Chaos as Judge Invalidates Panel and Decisions
Confusion abounds over the future of the United States vaccine advisory committee, with former members making contradictory statements following a federal judge essentially invalidating the panel and its recent decisions. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has been thrown into disarray after Judge Brian Murphy's ruling on Monday, which put on hold the membership of 13 committee members and all decisions made in the past year.
Judge's Ruling Sparks Immediate Confusion
According to a former committee member who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, ACIP will continue to exist without the 13 members who were stayed by Judge Murphy. Officials reportedly plan to restart the process with new members. The judge found that the members had not undergone the necessary procedures to join the committee, leading to the suspension of their membership and all committee decisions from the past twelve months.
This ruling also halted an unprecedented move in January by US health officials to make major changes to the routine childhood immunization schedule. Consequently, all 17 vaccines are once again fully recommended, including the birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine.
Contradictory Statements from Former Members
Robert Malone, the former co-chair of ACIP, posted on social media platform X on Thursday that the committee had been "disbanded." He added that the US government plans to "recreate a new ACIP committee, as this will take less time than would be required to file and prosecute an appeal."
However, a source familiar with officials' thinking disputed these claims, stating that no final decision has been made regarding how to proceed following the judge's order. The 13 members handpicked by Robert F Kennedy Jr, who were the focus of the lawsuit, are no longer able to serve due to the stay. Nevertheless, four other recently named individuals remain as members of the committee, which is mandated by law to exist.
Andrew Nixon, spokesperson for the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), emphasized, "Unless officially announced by us, any assertions about what we are doing next is baseless speculation."
Backtracking and Miscommunication
Later on Thursday, Malone doubled down on his initial statements, posting, "For some reason they are now trying to walk this back while throwing us under the bus." In a now-deleted post, he claimed to have heard details via an email and a call from Kirk Milhoan, the committee chair.
Subsequently, Malone backtracked, writing, "I have now been told that this was a miscommunication, and in fact the decision about how to proceed has not been made, and dissolving and reforming remains one of options being considered."
An email from Milhoan, obtained by the Guardian, alerted members to a new development on Thursday morning and requested phone calls. According to the former committee member, Malone got some details wrong from this conversation, but one point was accurate: Jay Bhattacharya, the acting head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), told Milhoan that officials plan to select new members for the committee because an appeal process could be lengthy.
Public Health Implications and Criticism
The tumult on Thursday highlighted the "chaos and confusion, starting from the top down," that has characterized the committee's tenure, the former member said. They added, "Hopefully the reconstitution will follow the law," and the new members will be "competent scientists."
Bruce Mirken, communications co-chair for Defend Public Health, commented, "This chaos simply adds to the public's declining trust in government health agencies." He continued, "A cynic might say they want Americans to believe no one and trust nothing, but the result is that people will continue to be confused and some will die needlessly from diseases that can be prevented by vaccines." Mirken also called for Kennedy's removal from office, stating, "Congress needs to impeach Kennedy now and put a stop to this grotesque circus."
The situation remains fluid, with no appeal filed against the judge's stay as of yet, leaving the future of vaccine recommendations in the United States uncertain.
