The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is reviving a task force on the safety of childhood vaccines, following a demand from the anti-vaccine organization founded by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Children’s Health Defense, an organization founded by Kennedy, funded a lawsuit filed in May to compel Kennedy to reestablish the task force and its reports to Congress. Kennedy and fellow vaccine critic Del Bigtree sued the department to produce the reports, part of an effort to bolster their misleading narrative about vaccine safety.
The task force will be comprised of senior leadership from across federal health agencies, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Food and Drug Administration (FDA). NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya will serve as chairman. By reinstating this Task Force, HHS is reaffirming its commitment to rigorous science, continuous improvement, and the trust of American families.
Kennedy has questioned the safety of childhood vaccines for decades and frequently claimed existing vaccines that have been on the market for decades and have repeatedly been proven safe are risky. The task force could be a key step toward changing the childhood immunization schedule, which recommends which shots children receive and when.
