Health Secretary Kennedy Revives Vaccine Safety Task Force Despite Anti-Vaccine Criticism
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has revived the Task Force on Safer Childhood Vaccines, which was disbanded in 1998. The task force, established in 1986 under the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act, aims to improve vaccine safety, quality, and oversight for American children. Dr. Jay Bhattacharya of the National Institutes of Health will chair the task force, with Susan Monarez from the CDC and Dr. Marty Makary from the FDA as members. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has faced criticism for cutting $2 billion from a vaccine program for vulnerable children, downplaying measles vaccines during outbreaks, and replacing CDC experts with vaccine skeptics. A lawsuit claims Kennedy violated the 1986 act by not forming a task force for vaccine safety. The new task force will collaborate with the Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines to improve adverse reaction reporting and vaccine safety. Experts argue the current system effectively monitors vaccine safety, and Kennedy’s revival of the task force may be part of his anti-vaccine agenda.