A newly formed task force established to evaluate the safety of COVID-19 vaccines will be chaired by a controversial appointee who has previously called the vaccines “the most failing medical product in the history of medical products.”
Retsef Levi, a management and health analytics expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will lead the subgroup of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). Levi was appointed to the advisory panel earlier this year by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime vaccine skeptic.
Levi has been openly critical of COVID-19 vaccines. In a video pinned to his X (formerly Twitter) profile, he previously urged that the vaccines be pulled from the market. His leadership role was announced by fellow committee member Dr. Robert Malone, a vaccinologist known for his opposition to the mRNA vaccine platform.
According to the CDC website, the new review team will investigate reports of immunization-related injuries and other concerns—many of which mainstream medical experts have repeatedly debunked. The formation of the panel comes amid broader shifts in federal vaccine policy under Kennedy’s leadership.
CDC Employees, Experts Express Concern
The announcement comes just days after hundreds of CDC staffers issued an open letter urging Kennedy to stop spreading vaccine misinformation. The letter followed a violent attack on the CDC’s Atlanta headquarters earlier this month, in which a gunman—who had repeatedly expressed anti-vaccine views—killed a police officer.
Despite this backdrop, the task force was instructed not to collaborate too closely with CDC scientists to prevent the appearance of “undue influence.” However, Levi stated in a recent interview that he intends to engage a broad spectrum of experts, including academic researchers and clinicians.
Health and Human Services (HHS) spokesman Andrew Nixon defended the decision, emphasizing that the panel would review evidence “with open minds and diverse perspectives,” and that data—not ideology—would guide its work.
Scientific Integrity in Question
Still, many in the scientific and public health communities remain skeptical. Dr. Jake Scott, an infectious disease expert at Stanford University, expressed concern about potential misuse of data, warning of “statistical manipulation” rather than objective scientific analysis.
Dr. Edward Belongia, who previously served on a COVID-19 vaccine task force before retiring in May, noted that his team had worked transparently and closely with CDC officials to analyze real-world safety data. He expressed disappointment at the shift, saying, “That trust is gone now with an anti-vaccine zealot in charge.”
The American Academy of Pediatrics and other outside groups have begun issuing independent vaccine recommendations due to growing mistrust in federal guidance. In response, Kennedy accused these organizations of promoting “corporate-friendly” policies.
Vaccine Confidence and Political Polarization
While overall vaccine confidence remains relatively high—with more than 92% of parents vaccinating their children for school—confidence in COVID-19 vaccines has plummeted along partisan lines. A recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that 87% of Democrats consider the vaccines safe, compared to only 30% of Republicans.
Under Kennedy’s direction, federal agencies have already begun scaling back COVID-19 vaccine access. A CDC panel recently withdrew its recommendation for vaccinating pregnant women and healthy children. The FDA is expected to approve updated fall mRNA vaccines next week, but eligibility will be limited to individuals 65 and older and those with high-risk conditions.
Earlier this month, Kennedy cut $500 million in grants for mRNA vaccine development, claiming they were ineffective against COVID-19 and influenza. Experts widely condemned the decision, citing the technology’s importance in rapid pandemic response.
Institutional Overhaul and Transparency Issues
Kennedy has also launched efforts to overhaul the federal vaccine injury compensation program and, in June, dismissed all 17 members of the ACIP panel, replacing them with eight individuals—some of whom have previously received funding to conduct vaccine-critical research.
Kennedy justified the firings by citing concerns over “conflicts of interest” and a lack of transparency. However, a recent University of Southern California study found that such conflicts had declined significantly over the past two decades.
Ironically, the newly formed ACIP group has stated it will continue to hold closed meetings, with documents and deliberations marked confidential.
Pushback from Public Health Leaders
Dr. Tom Frieden, former CDC director, rejected recent claims that COVID-19 vaccines were ineffective or unsafe. He noted that the vaccines had prevented hundreds of thousands of deaths in the U.S. and an estimated 2.5 million globally.
Frieden also criticized the ACIP’s recent decision to restrict access to certain flu vaccines based on disproven concerns about preservatives. “The politicization of the committee has already led to decisions that limit vaccine access,” he said, “and more such restrictions are likely to follow.”
Source: nytimes.com
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