The Destruction of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices

Last Saturday while my 19-year-old son and I were lifting weights (a great way to spend time with your kid), I listened to a program by infectious diseases specialist Daniel Griffin, MD. Dr. Griffin starts out his weekly updates with a quote. Sometimes he quotes a legendary figure like Winston Churchill, other times he will quote a fictional character such as Count Rugen from The Princess Bride movie “If you haven’t got your health, then you haven’t got anything.”

To open his presentation last week, Dr. Griffin quoted a character from Star Wars, Mon Mothma. I was 10 years old when the first movie changed my life. I had T-shirts, I had posters plastered across all my bedroom walls, I collected ALL of the Star Wars trading cards – paid for by my earnings from delivering newspapers. But I did not recall the name Mon Mothma. 

So, when we were done lifting, I played the part of the program for my son who is very well versed in the Star Wars universe. Zachary said I should know who she is – he explained to me she has played a big role in the overall Star Wars storyline.  

He told me she was one of the good guys and what she did. Then he added “if she had a flaw is that she waited too long”. We discussed this a little more and Zachary felt that she should have spoken out earlier and taken more direct action. 

My son did not know it – but the next task I had on my to-do-list last Saturday was to get an article I had been working on done and posted. I had been procrastinating; dreading writing anything that might be heard as “being political”. I had committed in my last article saying I would be writing more about the political aspects of health.  

When my son told me that the Star Wars character had waited too long to speak out and take action – he didn’t intend that to mean anything personally to me – but his comment helped inspire me not just to finish the article I was working on but to write more about what is going on the the political world right now. The actions being taken by those in power today will have profound impacts on my patients and community. 

It is not my intention to be a leader in partisan or tribal politics, but tribal and partisan politics now have an immediate and devastating effect on the people I care for.  The destruction of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is a devastating blow to the health of our nation. 

The ACIP was a model for the world. The membership of the committee was composed of people with extensive current relevant knowledge and experience in medicine, immunology, infectious diseases, and vaccine science. Members to the committee were subjected to a strict code – if a member had any conflict of interest, they had to recuse themselves from not just the vote but the discussion about the vaccine or any other product from the company that they had any suggestion of a conflict of interest in – this is required by law. 

These committee members have been supported by work groups that put together the research and organize the meetings. The names of these support members are a part of the record that anyone can pull up on their computer as part of the online live (and recorded) meetings. 

Example of an ACIP Workgroup from the recording of an ACIP meeting.

People who want to become members of the ACIP go through a rigorous process to identify conflicts of interest and to assure that they are qualified to be a part of the committee. ACIP members are volunteers who are not paid. ACIP members serve a 4-year term and may not remain on the committee except in the capacity of the chairperson. The credentials and biographies of all ACIP members are published for anyone to investigate if there are any conflicts of interest. 

On June 9th – just a little more than two weeks before they were to meet, the Secretary of Health and Human Services dismissed all 17 members of ACIP, claiming they had conflicts of interest. He has replaced them with 8 people (one has had to resign already). Several of these members have conflicts of interest and/or are not qualified to be on the committee. 

Medical professionals and their organizations are overwhelmingly clear in opposition to what the HHS Secretary has done. The Infectious Diseases Society of America, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Physicians, the American Medical Association, the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society, the American Academy of Physician Associates, the American Pharmacists Association, the American Public Health Association, the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners, the National Medical Association … the list goes on. Over 100 medical associations have signed a letter to the HHS Secretary demanding the reinstatement of the previous ACIP members. Countless individual medical professionals across the country have voiced their concerns as well. 

The ACIP is no longer a credible organization; the recommendations of the current committee will be meaningless – a waste of time, money, energies and focus. The actions of the HHS Secretary must be reversed as soon as possible. 

The destruction of the ACIP will harm my patients. The actions of our HHS Secretary are not good for our country. This goes beyond politics. This is not a Republican Party or Democratic Party concern. Health matters regardless of political affiliation. 

Here is where I must “get political” because correcting what has happened requires political action. I encourage you to contact your elected representative to let them know your thoughts.

The quote that Dr. Griffin used to open his June 20th infectious diseases update comes from the Star Wars TV series “Andor”. The Mon Mothman character is a Senator who gives this passionate speech to the galactic gathering of representatives: “The distance between what is said and what is known to be true has become an abyss. Of all the things at risk, the loss of an objective reality is perhaps the most dangerous. The death of truth is the ultimate victory of evil. When truth leaves us, when we let it slip away, when it is ripped from our hands, we become vulnerable to the appetite of whatever monster screams the loudest.”

Thanks for listening. Please share this article and you can take action by contacting your elected representatives.

All statements above should be attributed to solely myself and do not necessarily reflect those of any organization I am a member of or of my employer.

Health Matters is a website, blog and newsletter intended for informational purposes only. Meet with your primary care provider for your personal medical concerns.

I am a PA. I am proud to work with a great group of people in a rural privately owned family practice. I am part of the medical staff of a Critical Access Hospital that has been recognized as being one of the best in our country. In addition to taking care of patients in the clinic, I provide medical services in the emergency department and serve in the role of a hospitalist. I am not an infectious disease specialist, epidemiologist, immunologist or a public health expert. However I do look to these experts for information and guidance and will draft articles on these subjects with a sense of humility. Please click here for my full page of Disclosures, Disclaimers, Biases, and Context.

For resources on Infectious Diseases and Public Health see this page.

Take care, be active.