Attorney linked to Kennedy causes controversy with spreading vaccine misinformation at CDC advisory meeting

An anti-vaccine lawyer who has frequently taken legal action against federal and state health agencies, Aaron Siri, spoke at a meeting of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) on Friday. This move is highly unusual, as the committee has long been recognized as a reliable authority on vaccine recommendations. Siri, who is also the personal lawyer of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent anti-vaccine figure, delivered an extended presentation questioning the safety of routine childhood vaccinations.

Siris presentation focused on the childhood immunization schedule, raising concerns over adverse events linked to certain vaccines, including those for hepatitis B, pneumococcal disease, and the DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis) combination shot. He also criticized the Food and Drug Administrations approval process for the polio vaccine, calling for its revocation.

Art Caplan, the director of medical ethics at NYU Langone Medical Center, expressed his concerns, stating that Siri's appearance at the meeting suggested the committee was allowing a pre-existing ideological bias to influence its decisions. This is a science issue, and hes the wrong person, with the wrong conflicts, the wrong approach, and the wrong information, Caplan remarked.

During his talk, Siri also rehashed the debunked claim that vaccines are linked to autism, particularly focusing on vaccines administered during the first six months of life. He argued that no studies have proven otherwise, saying, If youre going to say vaccines dont cause autism, have the data to prove it. However, extensive research, including studies on the MMR vaccine, has found no link between vaccines and autism. For example, a large Danish study in July found no correlation between aluminum exposure from vaccines and increased rates of neurodevelopmental disorders. Furthermore, a 2021 review of 138 studies confirmed that MMR vaccines do not cause autism.

Siri also suggested that several childhood vaccines fail to prevent the transmission of diseases, citing research on a whooping cough vaccine in infant baboons. Public health experts, however, emphasize that the main goal of vaccines is to prevent symptomatic disease and death, rather than complete disease transmission.

Additionally, Siri criticized the safety evaluation process for vaccines, claiming that childhood vaccines were never tested against inert placebos. However, public health specialists point out that there are valid ethical reasons for not using placebos in some trials. It would be unethical to deny participants the benefit of a vaccine, so new vaccines are often compared to older, established versions.

Dr. Jake Scott, an infectious diseases expert at Stanford Medicine, disputed Siris claims, stating that inert placebo-controlled trials exist for most childhood vaccines. He referenced his teams documentation of 398 randomized control trials that used inert placebos like saline or sterile water to evaluate the safety of vaccines.

Dr. Cody Meissner, a pediatrician and former ACIP member, also criticized Siris statements as a terrible distortion of all the facts, and expressed disappointment that Siri was even invited to present. Making such outrageous claims about vaccine safety is highly misleading, Meissner said during the meeting.

Fridays proceedings were marked by controversy, with several members and presenters making misleading statements regarding the safety and efficacy of hepatitis B vaccines. The committee voted to reverse a long-standing recommendation for universal hepatitis B vaccination for newborns. Instead, they recommended that women who test negative for hepatitis B consult with their healthcare provider to decide whether their baby should receive the birth dose.

In June, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dismissed the previous members of the advisory panel, citing persistent conflicts of interest, and replaced them with a group of individuals who have expressed skepticism about vaccines. Siri disclosed multiple conflicts of interest at the meeting, including ongoing lawsuits against the Department of Health and Human Services and its subsidiary agencies, particularly related to vaccine mandates and COVID-19 vaccine injuries.

Siri revealed that he was invited to speak alongside Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, and Dr. Peter Hotez, co-director of the Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development. Hotez declined the invitation, citing concerns that the committee was straying from evidence-based medicine. Offit also said that he was not invited, but even if he had been, he would not have attended.

Caplan, the medical ethicist, further emphasized that such debates are counterproductive. We dont need to keep debating settled science, like evolution or the moon landing and we certainly dont need to debate vaccines, he concluded.

Author: Gavin Porter