Atlanta doctors warn CDC panel changes are 'dangerous'

ATLANTA - The Trump Administration has updated the charter for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory committee, broadening member qualifications and adopting language frequently used by vaccine skeptics.

The backstory:

The Trump Administration updated the charter for the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a key federal advisory panel that makes recommendations on vaccines for the nation. 

The new charter broadens qualifications for those serving on the committee. 

It echoes the wording of vaccine skeptics by focusing on possible harms from vaccines, calling for "studying gaps in vaccine safety research" and considering the "cumulative effects" of shots that experts say are settled science. 

What they're saying:

"This is very dangerous," said Dr. Robin Dretler, an infectious disease specialist at Emory-Decatur Hospital and a board member of the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA). "He has made so that any hack who wants to parrot things that are nonscientific, unproven and half-truths can be on that committee."

Dr. Dretler worries the move may increase the influence of antivaccine activists and undermine public trust. "Clearly his attempt to have utterly unqualified people on the board who will rubber stamp ideas that are nonscientific," Dr. Dretler said.

Dig deeper:

During his confirmation hearing last year, Kennedy denied he opposed vaccines. "I believe that—all—that vaccines play a critical role in health care. All of my kids are vaccinated. I've written many books on vaccines. My first book in 2014, the first line of it is 'I am not anti-vaccine' and the last line is 'I am not anti-vaccine,'" Kennedy said.

But Kennedy has been a vaccine skeptic in the past. Back in January, Kennedy ousted all members of the advisory committee and replaced them with his own picks. They declined to recommend COVID vaccines and voted to stop recommending Hepatitis B shots for most newborns.

A federal judge froze that committee and reversed its decisions. Dr. Cecil Bennett fears the new charter will let Kennedy bypass that ruling and choose known vaccine skeptics, including the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons and Physicians for Informed Consent.

"I just see this as another move to get around what we know is true. The science says that vaccines work," said Dr. Bennett, Medical Director of Newnan Family Medicine Associates and a member of Gov. Brian Kemp’s Board for Healthcare Workforce Assessment. "There’s no doubt in my mind that whoever he brings back to the committee... will be on the same page that he is... which only harms our children."

The Infectious Disease Society of America blasted the administration’s decision. Many doctors say it will endanger public health. They recommend you look to responsible groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics and urge you to talk with your doctor if you have any questions about vaccines.