By Sara Moniuszko

Copyright

During Thursday’s meeting, ACIP chair and biostatistician Martin Kulldorff noted the removal of CDC Director Dr. Susan Monarez and other members of CDC leadership, including former chief medical officer Dr. Debra Houry — both of whom testified a day prior about their removal.

“On vaccines, this committee is the key adviser to the CDC director, but during her short tenure, she never contacted me as the ACIP chair about any of her questions or concerns, which would have been natural if she had such concerns, neither was I contacted by any of the three CDC leaders, who subsequently resigned,” he said.

Kulldorff said the CDC leadership left citing divergent opinions about vaccines, but Monarez said she was also pressured by Kennedy to fire career experts without cause and approve vaccine recommendations without scientific evidence.

Kulldorff also said the American Academy of Pediatrics ended its participation with the committee and ignored invitations for open discussion about vaccines.

Last month, for the first time in 30 years, the AAP shared guidance that differed from the U.S. government. The organization said it is “strongly recommending” COVID-19 shots for children ages 6 months to 2 years old. Under Kennedy, the CDC doesn’t recommend COVID-19 shots for healthy children of any age. Instead, it says parents may get their kids vaccinated in consultation with physicians.