A newly constituted review panel of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is set to examine COVID-19 vaccines, led by Dr. Retsef Levi, a professor at MIT Sloan School of Management with no biomedical background. The panel’s review will include weighing risks and benefits, as well as assessing impacts from repeated boosting and policies in other countries.
Dr. Levi, appointed by US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has expressed concerns about mRNA vaccines, calling them “dangerous” on social media. However, he lacks clinical experience and holds a doctorate in operations research.
The new review will be led by Dr. Robert Malone and Dr. James Pagano, who are members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and have experience with early mRNA vaccine research and emergency medicine. The panel’s leadership has assured that there will be no undue influence from the CDC or special interest groups.
The review comes after efforts to steer ACIP towards taking on topics pushed by anti-vaccine groups. Some experts worry that the new review may not be rigorous, citing Kennedy’s history of cherry-picking and misrepresenting data to support his anti-vaccine views. The Health and Human Services department has stated that the task force will be guided by data, transparency, and open-mindedness.
Source: https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/acip-member-critical-covid-vaccines-lead-review