RFK Jr. Conducted a Pointless Vaccine Purge

The Wall Street Journal showcased a letter co-written by Charley Hooper and myself today (the print version will appear tomorrow). I’ve been cautious about quoting more than two paragraphs due to potential contractual restrictions, but it appears my agreement only limits my paid work, not my voluntary efforts. Therefore, I’ll boldly share the entire piece.

In reference to your editorial titled “RFK Jr. Conducts His Vaccine Purge” (June 11), it was reported that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dismissed all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, citing alleged conflicts of interest. However, he has yet to substantiate these claims, opting instead to assert that “the public must know that unbiased science guides the recommendations from our health agencies.”

Interestingly, we can draw insights from a related situation. Similar to ACIP, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) employs outside experts for advisory roles. The FDA has made efforts to exclude members with industry affiliations, which has inadvertently delayed the approval of drugs for rare conditions, as qualified experts are few and often have such ties. Fortunately, evaluations of committee conflicts of interest have shown their impact to be negligible.

A study published in 2006 by physician Sidney Wolfe and colleagues in the Journal of the American Medical Association analyzed 76 meetings of FDA advisory committees that resulted in “yes” or “no” votes on specific drugs. Their findings indicated that excluding voters with conflicts of interest would not have altered any of the 76 outcomes. Moreover, those with conflicts were more likely to support drugs that would compete with their own company’s offerings.

Thus, until proven otherwise, there is no compelling reason to believe that ACIP had significant issues prior to Mr. Kennedy’s sweeping changes.

David R. Henderson

Hoover Institution

Pacific Grove, Calif.

Charles L. Hooper

Objective Insights, Inc.

Grass Valley, Calif.

I appreciate Charley for supplying the backup link to the JAMA article. I received a request from the letters editor for the link and screenshots to support our assertions. Just as I was about to depart with my wife to celebrate Father’s Day, this arrived!