FDA Vaccine Advisory Panel Loses Prominent Expert Paul Offit Amid Kennedy Administration Changes
核心洞察
Dr. Paul Offit (搜索), a prominent vaccine scientist and vocal critic of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has been blocked from continuing his participation on the FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee.
Offit's removal comes amid broader changes to federal vaccine advisory panels under Kennedy's leadership, including the dismissal of CDC (搜索) Director Susan Monarez and the replacement of CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices members.
The development raises concerns about the future composition of vaccine advisory committees and whether they may be repopulated with panelists more aligned to Kennedy's anti-vaccine positions.
Dr. Paul Offit (搜索), a prominent vaccine scientist at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and longtime member of the FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC), has been blocked from continuing his participation on the influential panel that advises the agency on vaccine approvals and policies.
Offit, who has been a vocal critic of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., no longer appears on the FDA's roster of VRBPAC members, despite his term not being scheduled to end until 2027. The vaccine expert had agreed to extend his service through 2027 after being asked by a senior FDA official to remain for another four years.
Administrative Hold-Up or Targeted Removal?
According to an HHS spokesperson, Offit was among a dozen members of eight FDA advisory panels who were notified they can no longer participate because their terms as special government employees expired. However, Offit told CNN that he had filled out renewed Special Government Employee forms, including financial disclosures, but was informed by a senior official that the paperwork was "held up" for months within HHS.
A Trump administration hiring freeze applies to Special Government Employees, and renewals must go through the White House's Presidential Personnel Office. Offit finally received an email last week stating he was no longer a committee member because his forms were never approved.
Broader Pattern of Expert Departures
Offit's removal is part of a broader pattern of vaccine experts departing or being ousted from federal agencies under Kennedy's leadership. Last week, President Trump fired CDC (搜索) Director Susan Monarez, reportedly because she pushed back against changes to vaccination policy under Kennedy. This prompted the departure of multiple other key CDC leaders.
Kennedy has also dismissed all 17 members of the CDC (搜索)'s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), citing conflicts of interest. Nine former CDC directors have warned that Kennedy is causing deep harm with "dangerous and unfounded vaccine recommendations" and called on Congress to intervene.
Kennedy's Accusations and Offit's Response
Kennedy has specifically targeted Offit, accusing him of conflicts of interest related to his involvement in developing the rotavirus (搜索) vaccine RotaTeq. In a Fox News interview in June, Kennedy claimed that Offit voted to add the rotavirus vaccine to the CDC (搜索)'s recommended immunization schedule and then sold his stake for $186 million.
Offit disputes this characterization, noting in a social media video that the vaccine hadn't come up for a vote until three years after he served as a voting member of the CDC (搜索) advisory panel, and that Children's Hospital of Philadelphia owned the vaccine patent, not him personally.
"I worked for 26 years on that vaccine," Offit told CNN. "Both the motivation for doing it and the reward from doing it were never financial, obviously. What upsets me the most about that is that people believe it. You know, they believe that I would actually knowingly lie about vaccine safety or vaccine efficacy to line my own pocket."
Criticism of Kennedy's Vaccine Policies
Offit has been particularly critical of Kennedy's rollback of COVID-19 (搜索) vaccination programs, including the removal of the shots from the CDC (搜索)'s routine immunization recommendations for healthy children and pregnant women. He recently described Kennedy as "an anti-vaccine activist who has these fixed, immutable, science-resistant beliefs that vaccines are dangerous [and] will find some way to support his notion that vaccines are doing more harm than good."
Speaking to MSNBC, Offit said Kennedy is a "science denialist who has said that COVID vaccines are – in his words – the deadliest vaccines ever made. He is going to do everything he can to make that vaccine less available, less affordable, and more feared."
Personal Toll and Committee's Future
Offit revealed that his advocacy work has come at a personal cost, including hate mail, physical assault, and death threats. "They hate you because they think that you're putting their children in harm's way for money. And it's not true," he said.
Despite his removal, Offit expressed confidence in the remaining VRBPAC members. "The VRBPAC is in no sense weaker by my not being there. There are a lot of really good people on that committee, so I don't think anybody should feel they're getting lesser advice because I'm not there," he told CNN.
However, concerns remain about whether the committee may be repopulated with panelists more aligned to Kennedy's anti-vaccine positions, similar to what has occurred with the CDC (搜索)'s advisory committee. Kennedy is scheduled to appear before the Senate Finance Committee, which could provide an opportunity for questioning about his handling of vaccine regulation and policy.