(Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Monday that they have appointed five new members to the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel.
This comes ahead of the panel’s meeting this week to review guidance on shots for hepatitis B, measles-mumps-rubella-varicella (MMRV) and COVID-19, in a closely watched session that could further reshape the federal vaccination policy.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime vaccine critic dismissed all 17 members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) in June and installed a new, smaller panel, with eight new members who have questioned aspects of mRNA and childhood vaccination.
One person has since left. The committee now has 12 members.
The five new members will be taking part in this week’s meeting, said HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon.
(Reporting by Puyaan Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
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