RFK Jr.’s panel gives update on reviewing childhood vaccine schedule

A newly restructured panel of vaccine advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) plans to launch new work groups tasked with evaluating the effects of the childhood and adolescent immunization schedules, the first hepatitis B dose administered at birth, and the combined measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella (MMRV) vaccine.

The newly appointed chair of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), Dr. Martin Kulldorff, made the announcement during Wednesday’s meeting in Atlanta, according to CNN.

This marked the first gathering of the revised ACIP since U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dismissed the previous 17-member panel earlier this month, citing alleged conflicts of interest. He swiftly replaced them with eight new members, though one later withdrew during a financial disclosure review, according to the Associated Press, leaving seven individuals now responsible for advising the nation on vaccine recommendations.

The American Academy of Pediatrics announced at the meeting that it will continue publishing its own vaccine schedule for children but now will do so independently of the ACIP, calling it “no longer a credible process.”

This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.