A team of scientific experts advising the Food and Drug Administration on vaccine policy – and has been aimed at criticism by Health Minister Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The FDA sent an email to members of the vaccines and the Organic Advisory Committee on Monday afternoon, informing them of cancellation, according to a senior employee familiar with the decision. There was no reason. The panel had to meet on March 13.
A member of the Commission, Dr. Paul Offit of Philadelphia Children’s Hospital, a sincere critic of Mr Kennedy, confirmed the cancellation and warned that he could intervene or delay the production of influenza vaccines.
“It’s a six -month production cycle,” said Dr. Offit. “So one can only assume that we do not choose the influenza executives this year.”
Cancellation – and postponement last week with a similar meeting of scientific advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – plays fears between scientists who are worried that Mr Kennedy will use his perch to sow doubts about the vaccines and to intervene in the vaccines.
Richard Hughes, a lawyer for some vaccine manufacturers, said that the postponement is concerned, since the timetable for the construction of the flu vaccine tends to be quite strict. Executives are usually selected at the FDA meeting in February or March using data from the World Health Organization – a relationship that the United States left the principles of Trump’s administration. He said the construction tends to start in June.
“The bets are incredibly high,” he said, noting that this year’s influenza era was particularly intense.
According to the CDC, 86 children and 19,000 adults have died from the flu this winter. About 430,000 people were hospitalized. In June, a CDC committee tends to decide whether to advise the use of the vaccine, which is moving and governmental coverage of vaccines, Mr Hughes said.
As a presidential candidate and more recently as a supporter of President Trump, Mr Kennedy has repeatedly warned of “regulatory arrest” – the idea that federal regulators are captive in industry. He has said that he intends to eliminate conflicts of interest in scientific groups that advise federal regulators.
Members of these committees often work with the industry. Dr. Offit, for example, is an inventor of a Rotavian vaccine developed by the Merck Giant Giant. The members of the Commission are currently obliged to declare their partnerships and to discover themselves from voting on issues in which they have a financial share. Mr Kennedy suggested that he wants stricter restrictions.
The meeting of the Advisory Committee on the immunization of CDC practices would have covered issues related to various vaccines, including one protecting against human papillary. Mr Kennedy has been strongly criticized with this vaccine.
