by Kyle Galvin
Two Connecticut-based vaccine experts were among 17 fired by US Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday.
Dr. Albert Shaw Credit: Contributed photo
Both experts were members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). They are Dr. George Kuchel, who is director of the UConn Center on Aging in Farmington, and Dr. Albert C. Shaw, who is a professor of medicine at the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven. Their terms on ACIP were scheduled to last until 2028 and 2027, respectively.
Dr. George Kuchel Credit: Contributed photo
The National Medical Association called Kennedy’s decision to gut ACIP “a devastating attack on our nation’s public health system” in a statement.
“Vaccines and access to them have been one of the most important public health tools in preventing significant disease and death in the US,” the statement said. “This latest move further undercuts the public’s trust in vaccines and our healthcare system by creating confusion for patients and their healthcare providers.”
ACIP develops recommendations on the use of vaccines for United States civilians, which influence CDC-set immunization schedules for adults and children, according to ACIP’s website.
Kennedy, who has stated his vaccine skepticism on numerous occasions, said he intends to replace members of the committee with independent picks. He explained his rationale in a Wall Street Journal editorial while claiming on X that “a clean sweep is necessary to reestablish public confidence in vaccine science.”
However, Caitlin Gilmet, communications director at the SAFE Communities Coalition, a bipartisan pro-vaccine advocacy organization, said the move has stripped the CDC of its most qualified vaccine advisors.
“These are experts in infectious disease, immunogenicity, epidemiology and public health policy,” Gilmet said. “So these are exactly the kind of scientists and physicians we want guiding our nation’s response to credible diseases.”
As a result of this action, Gilmet said, the fear among medical professionals is that some states might start pulling away from CDC vaccination recommendations and guidelines, creating a national vaccine policy where your zip code and local politics determine access to protection from preventable disease outbreaks.
“Chaos is never good for public health,” Gilmet said.
The US News and World Report ranks Connecticut fifth in Public Health and third in Health Care nationally, considering factors such as obesity rates, infant mortality rates, and quality of and access to health care services, according to its website. Connecticut Senate Democrats touted rising vaccination rates in the state amid falling rates nationwide in a news release last year.
But even with Connecticut’s current ample access to and stockpile of vaccines, Gilmet said, insurers declining to cover certain vaccines they have traditionally covered based on future ACIP recommendations would put vaccines out of financial reach for many, making the state more susceptible to future public health crises.
“In that case, it doesn’t matter how strong your state’s laws are,” Gilmet said. “If vaccines are unavailable, we’re all going to be at risk.”