RFK Jr. fires all experts on CDC vaccine panel

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday fired all 17 members of CDC's ACIP, the expert panel that reviews data on vaccines, debates evidence, and votes on who should receive shots and when. Insurance companies and government programs like Medicaid are required to cover any vaccines recommended by ACIP.

In an opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal, Kennedy said the move would restore the public's trust in vaccines, arguing that ACIP has been "plagued with persistent conflicts of interest and has become little more than a rubber stamp for any vaccine," adding that ACIP has "never recommended against a vaccine — even those later withdrawn for safety reasons" and has "failed to scrutinize vaccine products given to babies and pregnant women."

While it's unclear who Kennedy will appoint to serve on ACIP, he noted in the Journal piece that they "won't directly work for the vaccine industry." The committee was scheduled to meet June 25 to 27, and a press release from HHS said the meeting will proceed as planned, suggesting that new members for ACIP may have already been selected.

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), whom Kennedy told during his confirmation hearing that he would not alter ACIP, said in a post on X, "Of course, now the fear is that the ACIP will be filled up with people who know nothing about vaccines except suspicion," adding that he has spoken to Kennedy to "ensure this is not the case."

In a post on X, Kennedy said he plans to announce new members of the panel in the "coming days" and promised that "none of [the] individuals will be ideological anti-vaxxers" but instead will be "highly credentialed physicians and scientists who will make extremely consequential public health determinations by applying evidence-based decision-making with objectivity and common sense."

In response to the firings, delegates from the American Medical Association (AMA) passed an emergency resolution urging Kennedy reverse his move. Delegates also directed leaders at AMA to send a letter to the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee requesting an investigation into Kennedy's decision.

"I don't think there's any way to put this, other than saying that this is an unmitigated public health disaster," said Sean O'Leary, chair of the infectious disease committee for the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

O'Leary added that Kennedy's decision will exacerbate mistrust in vaccines. "Both parents and pediatricians are really confused by the actions right now, and this is only going to make things worse," he said, adding that AAP will continue to provide advice and recommendations for an immunization schedule.

(Mandavilli, New York Times, 6/9; Kennedy Jr., Wall Street Journal, 6/9; Branswell, et al., STAT, 6/9; Fiore, MedPage Today, 6/9; Zhang, Bloomberg, 6/10; Firth, MedPage Today, 6/10)

In April, Hawley urged Makary to review new data on mifepristone and to "restore critical safeguards" for its use. The new data Hawley referred to came from a report released in April by the conservative think tank The Ethics and Public Policy Center, which claimed that 11% of people who undergo medication abortions experience a "serious adverse event," a percentage that is 22 times larger than the rate currently listed on the drug's FDA label.

Experts have cast doubt on the study, noting that while the study claims to have used more than 865,000 insurance claims from prescribed medication abortions, it does not share the source for those claims.

The study also breaks down serious adverse events into different categories, including sepsis, infection, and ED visits. However, an ED visit alone doesn't qualify as an adverse event under FDA's definition. Most other adverse events fall into the category labeled "other abortion-specific complications."

(O'Connell-Domenech, et al., The Hill, 6/3)

CDC's plans to shift disease data information to system managed by Palantir raises privacy concerns

CDC told state officials last week that it will start shifting disease information to a new system managed by Palantir, a data analysis and technology firm cofounded by Peter Thiel, which has raised concerns about patient privacy, delays in spotting long-term trends, and how the Trump administration could use the data.

Healthcare providers are required to report cases of certain diseases — including sexually transmitted diseases like syphilis or other diseases like measles, tuberculosis, and polio — to their local or state health departments. States can decide how much of their data they share with CDC.

Palantir's systems rely on a platform called Foundry which could merge information from different agencies. Some officials have expressed concerns that a large data collection system could expose or endanger people with sensitive health needs like gender care, reproductive health care, or disabilities. Some advocacy groups have attempted to block the Trump administration from sharing data across agencies.

"We are very supportive of modernization of our public health data systems, but the revelations of possible misuse and abuse of these efforts are very concerning," said Philip Huang, director of Dallas County Health and Human Services in Texas.

In an email dated June 3 obtained by the New York Times, Jen Layden, a CDC official, told states and jurisdictions that the notifiable diseases surveillance system would be migrating to the new One CDC Data Platform, which means the agency would have to postpone the release of annual data for 2024 until next year.

Officials would still be able to review data about current outbreaks, but annual data is essential for identifying regions of concern, flaws in how outbreaks were handled, and planning future public health responses, according to some experts.

"With multiple serious outbreaks occurring throughout the U.S., it is completely unacceptable to delay notable disease reporting," said Jennifer Nuzzo, director of the Pandemic Center at Brown University.

Andrew Nixon, a spokesperson for HHS, said that CDC's move will leave behind "siloed, redundant data systems and tools" adding that the transition to a new data platform "is about modernizing outdated public health infrastructure — not compromising data privacy."

"CDC remains fully committed to protecting sensitive health information and will continue to work closely with states to ensure data is handled securely, transparently and in accordance with all federal privacy laws," Nixon said.

(Mandavilli, New York Times, 6/6)

NIH pledges $50M to identify causes of autism

NIH is seeking out proposals for HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s autism data project and has pledged an initial $50 million towards efforts to identify causes of the condition, according to a funding opportunity posted to NIH's website.

In April, Kennedy announced that HHS had launched a "massive testing and research effort that's going to involve hundreds of scientists from around the world" to determine what has caused the rise in autism rates by September. Then, in May, Kennedy walked back the timeline saying the deadline would now be March of next year at the earliest.

NIH said it's looking for proposals that utilize existing data and potentially generate new specifics aimed at answering questions, including which emerging or "unstudied" factors could be contributing to autism as well as treatment options.

NIH said it will likely grant between 10 and 25 awards of up to $5 million each for 24- to 36-month projects. Data for the projects cannot be directly derived from animal testing but can be pulled from existing information on toxicity data and other concerns coming from animal studies.

Applications are due by June 27, and the earliest possible start date is Sept. 1.

(Goldman, Axios, 6/6)