June 24 (UPI) -- Sen. Bill Cassidy called for a meeting of a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccine advisory committee set for this week to be postponed, citing a lack of experience among its new appointees.
The new Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices panel selected by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is scheduled to meet for the first time Wednesday and Thursday, but Cassidy, R-La., a physician and chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, warned against that Monday in a post on X.
"Wednesday's meeting should not proceed with a relatively small panel, and no CDC director in place to approve the panel's recommendations," he wrote. "The meeting should be delayed until the panel is fully staffed with more robust and balanced representation -- as required by law -- including those with more direct relevant expertise."
Cassidy said that while Kennedy's picks for the ACIP panel "have scientific credentials" he warned that "many do not have significant experience studying microbiology, epidemiology or immunology."
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"In particular, some lack experience studying new technologies such as mRNA vaccines, and may even have a preconceived bias against them. Robust and transparent scientific discussion is important, so long as it is rooted in evidence and understanding. Otherwise, ACIP's recommendations could be viewed with skepticism, which will work against the success of this Administration's efforts," he concluded.
Kennedy fired the previous 17 members of ACIP earlier this month and replaced them with his choices.
The ACIP's role is to make vaccine recommendations and create the national childhood vaccination schedule. Cassidy voted to confirm Kennedy as the Health and Human Services Secretary, a decision after he said Kennedy told him he would not shake up the ACIP, among other commitments related to vaccines.
The Wednesday meeting of the ACIP is scheduled to include a discussion about thimerosal, a form of mercury used as a preservative in some vaccines. Kennedy has previously stuck to an otherwise disproven claim that links thimerosal to autism.
Almost all American-made vaccines currently feature either trace or no amounts of thimerosal, except for multi-dose flu shot vials, which still contain the preservative. However, most flu shots are now packaged as single shots.
The CDC webpage about thimerosal currently states that "there is no evidence of harm caused by the low doses of thimerosal in vaccines, except for minor reactions like redness and swelling at the injection site."
It also proclaims that "research does not show any link between thimerosal in vaccines and autism."
