The membership criteria are also dramatically different between the current charter and today’s renewal. Currently, ACIP members “shall be selected from authorities who are knowledgeable in the fields of immunization practices and public health, have expertise in the use of vaccines and other immunobiologic agents in clinical practice or preventive medicine, have expertise with clinical or laboratory vaccine research, or have expertise in assessment of vaccine efficacy and safety.” These specific core requirements of expertise in immunization practices and vaccine science were central to Murphy’s findings that Kennedy’s appointees were unfit to be on the committee.
The renewal notice did not mention these criteria, but instead discussed members having a “geographic balance” (representing different parts of the country) and a “balance of specialty areas.” It provided a lengthy list of specialty areas that span a much larger swath of medical and scientific fields and potentially beyond. They include: “biostatistics, toxicology, immunology, epidemiology, pediatrics, internal medicine, family medicine, nursing, consumer issues, state and local health department perspective, academic perspective, public health perspective, etc.”
Suggested changes
Some of the changes in the renewal may stem from a push made by an anti-vaccine group close to Kennedy. The group is Informed Consent Action Network (ICAN), headed by Kennedy’s anti-vaccine ally Del Bigtree, who is working with Aaron Siri, a lawyer who worked on Kennedy’s failed presidential campaign and has filed numerous lawsuits seeking compensation for alleged vaccine injuries. Siri is also notable for petitioning the Food and Drug Administration to revoke the polio vaccine.
Last month, ICAN urged Kennedy to revise ACIP’s charter and Siri’s law firm provided a draft, complete with track-changed text, of what they want for the new charter. The draft states that ACIP members should have expertise in any area “deemed relevant by the Secretary.” But, it specifically states that “At least two members shall have direct and substantial experience advocating for and/or treating those injured by vaccines.”
The Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to questions from Ars Technica about changes to the renewal notice or potential updates to the CDC’s full charter language. Spokesperson Andrew Nixon only said in an emailed statement that the renewal is part of “routine statutory requirements and do not signal any broader policy shift.”