The group held it’s first meeting.
Kulldorff as co-chair spends the opening of the meeting, whining about how he was treated unfairly. Great way to spend taxpayers money. The petty grievances from these guys is incalculable. These characters are absolutely pathetic people.
Kulldorff then pivoted to wondering whether children are receiving too many vaccines too soon. RFK Jr. could not have spoken the words better himself.
The rest of the ACIP meeting was a farce. Other than when CDC members were providing actual evidence that vaccinations were overwhelmingly safe and effective, the members of ACIP revealed themselves to be a group of cranks recycling various, long-disproven antivax tropes. It seemed that Meissner was the only one willing to push back on the nonsense (although he did add some of his own).
Thimerosal has been an (imaginary) sticking point for RFK Jr. for decades. Despite no evidence of harm, ACIP made sure to bump up this non-issue to a vote:
RFK Jr’s new vaccine panel votes against preservative in flu shots in shock move
A critical federal vaccine panel has recommended against seasonal influenza vaccines containing a specific preservative – a change likely to send shock through the global medical and scientific community and possibly impact future vaccine availability.
From the people that cried about censorship:
Repeated, large studies conducted across several countries have found no association between thimerosal and neurological effects. A presentation from CDC career scientists that was initially expected to go through some of this substantial data was removed before the panel reconvened on Thursday.
In response to a question about the slapped down presentation, ACIP member Dr Robert Malone, a well-known anti-vaccine activist, said: “That article was not authorized by the office of the secretary and was removed.”
But, hey, they hope everyone is going to be using wearables soon. Hard to imagine why:
Key RFK Jr advisers stand to profit from a new federal health initiative
A key adviser to Kennedy, Calley Means, could directly benefit from one of the campaign’s stated aims: popularizing “technology like wearables as cool, modern tools for measuring diet impact and taking control of your own health”.
Calley Means is a senior Kennedy adviser, and was hired as a special government employee to focus on food policy, according to Bloomberg. He founded a company that helps Americans get such wearable devices reimbursed tax-free through health savings accounts.
Due to Calley Means’s status as a special employee, he has not been forced to divest from his private business interests – a situation that has already resulted in an ethics complaint.
Also:
RFK Jr. says US won’t donate to global vaccine effort
The United States won’t contribute anymore to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, until the global health organization has “re-earned the public trust,” U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Wednesday.