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Kennedy's US vaccine panel begins closely watched two-day meeting
By Julie Steenhuysen and Michael Erman - 6/25/2025
By Julie Steenhuysen and Michael Erman
CHICAGO (Reuters) -The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's revamped vaccine advisory panel began its closely watched two-day meeting on Wednesday, its first since Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dismissed all of its members and installed a new panel, including several people with histories of vaccine skepticism.
The committee will focus on data surrounding vaccines for COVID-19, RSV, influenza, and the combined measles-mumps-rubella-varicella (MMRV) shot.
Another area of focus will be vaccines containing thimerosal, long targeted by anti-vaccine advocates despite broad scientific consensus on its safety.
The meeting is unfolding under intense scrutiny. Major medical experts and former Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) members have expressed concern over its reconstitution. U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy and others have publicly called for the meeting to be postponed.
Kennedy, who has a long history of sowing doubt about vaccine safety, has already strayed from norms and procedures designed to ensure scientific rigor and consensus, panel members, advisers and former government employees told Reuters.
Just a day before the panel was set to convene, one of its newly appointed members, Dr. Michael Ross, unexpectedly withdrew from the meeting, further fueling concerns about the internal dynamics of the reshaped group. His withdrawal means the panel is now comprised of seven members.
However, the outcome of the meeting is critical, as the panel's recommendations influence the official U.S. immunization schedule, determine insurance coverage for vaccines and guide procurement for federal programs.
(Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen in Chicago and Michael Erman in New York; Additional reporting by Mrinalika Roy and Bhanvi Satija in Bengaluru; Editing by Caroline Humer and Lincoln Feast.)