A new search tool unveiled Friday increases public access to information about the connections between advisors to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccine policy and the pharmaceutical industry.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) discusses epidemiological studies, weighs the benefits and side effects reported in clinical trials, and makes recommendations to the CDC on the routine vaccination schedules for children and adults. The ACIP’s recommendations inform which shots are reimbursed by health plans. In a bid to enhance transparency around the process, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has enabled users to search which advisors reported potential conflicts of interest and recused themselves from casting a vote affecting a drugmaker they had ties to.
The new tool is consistent with pledges by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to restore trust in the nation’s health agencies lost during the pandemic through increased information.
“In alignment with HHS Secretary Kennedy’s commitment to radical transparency, CDC released a tool for Americans to easily access conflicts of interest for ACIP committee members,” a CDC spokesman said in an email. “Rather than conflicts of interest being buried within meeting minutes, this tool quickly provides the public with ACIP members’ conflicts of interest.”
The ACIP became a flashpoint for controversy during the COVID-19 pandemic, reenergizing concerns about payments advisors receive from the pharmaceutical industry.
Delusions of Adequacy 