A vaccine adcomm expert criticised RFK Jr – now he's out

A prominent vaccine expert and critic of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has been blocked from participating in a key vaccine advisory committee.

Dr Paul Offit, a vaccine scientist at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and a member of the FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC), is a staunch defender of immunisation and has been a vocal critic of Kennedy's actions since taking the HHS role.

He recently said that the Secretary is "an anti-vaccine activist who has these fixed, immutable, science-resistant beliefs that vaccines are dangerous [and] will find some way to support his notion that vaccines are doing more harm than good."

He has been particularly critical of the rollback and restriction of COVID-19 vaccination programmes under Kennedy, such as the removal of the shots from the CDC's routine immunisation recommendations for healthy children and pregnant women.

Offit no longer appears on the FDA's roster of VRBPAC – currently set at 14 with no vacancies – although his term was not due to come to an end until 2027. The news was first reported by the Pink Sheet newsletter.

At the moment, it seems that Offit is the only VRBPAC member to be removed, but the development has raised concerns about the future of the advisory committee, and whether it may end up being repopulated with panellists more aligned to Kennedy's point of view, as has already occurred with the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).

Last week, President Trump also fired CDC director Susan Monarez, reportedly because she pushed back against changes to vaccination policy under Kennedy. That has prompted nine former CDC directors to warn that the HHS Secretary is causing deep harm with "dangerous and unfounded vaccine recommendations" and call on Congress to intervene.

Kennedy is scheduled to appear in front of the Senate Finance Committee tomorrow, which could provide an opportunity for probing questions about his handling of vaccine regulation and policy.

Offit told MSNBC yesterday that Kennedy is a "science denialist who has said that COVID vaccines are – in his words – the deadliest vaccines ever made. He is going to do everything he can to make that vaccine less available, less affordable, and more feared."

He added: "What is going to be the consequence is that there will be people who will suffer that disease who didn't need to. This is a preventable infection, and the goal of that vaccine has been met – which is to prevent serious disease. It's not to prevent mild disease and I think people need to understand that."

According to the Washington Post, an HHS spokesperson – who declined to be named – said that Offit was among a dozen members of eight FDA advisory panels who were notified they can no longer participate because their terms as special government employees expired.

Kennedy has accused Offit of having a vested interest in the vaccines sector, specifically a conflict of interest due to his involvement in the development of a rotavirus jab.