By Voice & Viewpoint Staff
On May 27, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. publicly announced that the federal government would no longer recommend the COVID-19 vaccine for healthy children and pregnant women.
The announcement reportedly blindsided CDC officials, who were not consulted in advance. In response, the CDC issued revised guidance that contradicted Kennedy’s claims, maintaining the COVID-19 vaccine for healthy children aged 6 months to 17 years, but urging that the decision be made in consultation with a healthcare provider.
Kennedy defended his move, criticizing past policy: “Last year the Biden administration urged healthy children to get yet another COVID shot despite the lack of any clinical data to support the repeat booster strategy in children.” Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary, supported Kennedy’s stance, saying, “There’s no evidence healthy kids need it today, and most countries have stopped recommending it for children.”
Local medical expert and retired board-certified cardiologist of 40 years, Dr. Jerome Robinson, had a lot to say.
“Kennedy is not a physician,” said Dr. Robinson, “He doesn’t have any medical experience or knowledge that I’m aware of, the recommendation should come from the CDC,” Robinson told Voice & Viewpoint last week.
“Kennedy is a joke. He made recommendations on the measles vaccine to Samoa in the second decade of 2000 and said that the illnesses that were occurring were as a result of the vaccine – that the vaccine was worse than the virus. Of course, it resulted in the excess amount of deaths, some 80 to 100 people died as a result of his recommendations,” he continued.
Robinson underscored the role of expert panels like the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. “The committee of immunization practices are made up of 2 dozen scientific experts from around the country. They make the recommendations based upon the data that they have so far in terms of information of the vaccines.”
“[Kennedy] still has a belief that [COVID vaccines] may cause autism, and that is just not true,” Robinson noted.
Dr. Robinson warns that misinformation has grown increasingly harmful. “There’s an antiscience feeling in this country… it [has] become very dangerous. That’s how we have the outbreak of measles [now] starting in Texas… and it’s spreading.”
The growing controversy over Kennedy’s vaccine policies recently took a dramatic turn. In a recent article published by CNN on June 9th titled, “RFK Jr. Removes All Current Members of CDC Vaccine Advisory Committee,” Kennedy reportedly announced in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that, “the entirety of the 17-member Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) will be retired and replaced with new members.”
The article also notes that, “The HHS secretary has the authority to appoint and dismiss ACIP members, who typically serve four-year cycles. But removing the entire panel prematurely is unprecedented.”
Kennedy’s reasoning for this announcement – a number of the panel’s members were “last-minute appointees” of the Biden administration. “Without removing the current members, the current Trump administration would not have been able to appoint a majority of new members until 2028,” wrote Kennedy.
One just-dismissed ACIP member told CNN they did not receive a termination notice until after Kennedy’s op-ed published.
“I’ve never seen anything this damaging to public health happen in my lifetime,” the adviser said. “I’m shocked. It’s pretty brazen. This will fundamentally destabilize vaccination in America.”
“Kennedy knows better,” the adviser said.
The CDC committee is scheduled to meet on June 25-27 to discuss vaccinations for Covid-19, RSV, influenza, HPV and meningococcal disease. HHS said the meeting will still take place, giving the agency roughly two weeks to fill its advisory panel.
