px_eliezer_ The ACIP truly has been the premier group, this is very unfortunate.
The issue, of course, is who is doing this, and who he will replace them with.
He claims conflicts of interest. But none were found:
RFK Jr. says federal vaccine advisers are beholden to industry. The evidence does not support him
In fact, the 15-member committee already has rigorous policies in place to minimize the possible impact of any industry ties among members. And a ScienceInsider investigation of its 13 physician members found minimal industry payments in recent years. The consulting, honoraria, speaking, travel, and “in-kind” research payments that eight members received from drugmakers averaged just over $4000 a year, nearly $3000 less than the average for all U.S. specialist physicians. For all but one member, these payments came before their terms started last year; data since they joined the committee are not yet available. Five others received no such payments.
Compare that to the direct conflicts of interest of the wellness influencers that have been hired to roles in this administration.
The next step is to stack the ACIP with his fellow antivaxxers and effectively ban vaccines.
I imagine that there will be a large chunk of the media that that kept telling us he won’t be that bad because he had some legitimate concerns about chronic disease, and instead acts shocked as he does what he said he wanted to do for years.