And The Susan Collins Award For Gullibility Goes To… Senator Bill Cassady

In a move that surprised no one who has spent any time over the last year listening to the words that most consistently come out of his mouth, Robert F. Kennedy Jr fired all 17 experts on Centers for Disease Control (CDC) vaccine advisory panel:

Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is removing all 17 members of a key advisory committee that helps craft vaccine policy and recommendations for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Kennedy made the announcement on Monday afternoon in a press release from the Department of Health and Human Services and an opinion piece published by The Wall Street Journal. …

“A clean sweep is necessary to reestablish public confidence in vaccine science,” Kennedy said in a statement, “ACIP new members will prioritize public health and evidence-based medicine. The Committee will no longer function as a rubber stamp for industry profit-taking agendas.” …

Kennedy has previously claimed that ACIP members have serious conflicts of interests.

However, as NPR has reported, a government report he has cited to back that up shows they do not. In addition, committee members are required to disclose if they have any conflicts of interest before casting a vote and recuse themselves if they have one.

Past members of ACIP warn that gutting the current committee removes an important check on changes in the administration’s approach to vaccine policy.

Actually, there’s at least one person who has to be surprised–in that Susan-Collins-I-am-sure–Trump-has-learned-his-lesson-and-they-will-never-vote-to-overturn-Roe way–Senator and Physician Bill Cassidy:

In early February, when there was still some question as to whether or not the Senate would confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Sen. Bill Cassidy delivered a closely watched speech on the Senate floor. The Louisiana Republican, a physician by trade, not only endorsed the anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist during his remarks, he offered assurances about the future.

“If confirmed, [Kennedy] will maintain the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices — without changes,” Cassidy declared with confidence, pointing to assurances he’d received directly from RFK Jr.

For those not keeping score, Bill Cassidy’s promise played a considerable role in getting RFK through his confirmation process.

But not to worry, on June 9th, when the cuts were announced, Senator Cassidy said he was working with RFK Jr to make sure those positions were not filled by skeptics:

Let’s see how that’s going.

Oh, wait, surprising no one who’s spent time looking into RFK Jr’s long-standing history of “vaccine skepticism” (read as: conspiracy theories and misrepresenting science), he’s appointed fellow vaccine “skeptics” as their replacements:

On Wednesday, Kennedy listed the names and short bios of the new advisers who will join the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, at its upcoming meeting in late June. …

The new members are Dr. Joseph R. Hibbeln, Martin Kulldorff, Retsef Levi, Dr. Robert Malone, Dr. Cody Meissner, Dr. Michael A. Ross, Dr. James Pagano and Vicky Pebsworth. …

“Kennedy did not pick people with strong, current expertise in vaccines,” says Dorit Reiss, a professor at UC Law, San Francisco, who studies vaccine policy. “It tells me that Kennedy is setting up a committee that would be skeptical of vaccines, and possibly willing to implement an anti-vaccine agenda.”

The panel of outside experts helps set vaccine policy and craft recommendations for the immunization schedule, which guides health providers and influences which shots are covered by health insurers.

Kennedy’s new selections have varied backgrounds, though many rose to prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, when they criticized government policies on school closures and lockdowns, and the mRNA vaccines.

For example, Kulldorff, an epidemiologist and biostatistician, helped write the Great Barrington Declaration with Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, then a Stanford University professor who is now director of the National Institutes of Health. That open letter questioned lockdowns and other public health measures early in the COVID-19 pandemic. Kulldorff declined to comment when reached by NPR.

Malone has gained a large following for undermining the COVID-19 vaccine. A scientist who worked on early research into the mRNA technology, he became critical of the shot and made baseless and disproven claims, including falsely stating that getting vaccinated puts people who have already had COVID-19 at higher risk. …

In fact, Meissner, a professor of pediatrics and medicine at Dartmouth College‘s Geisel School of Medicine, was previously a member of ACIP. A CDC database posted in March shows that Meissner made 12 conflict of interest disclosures during his time on the committee from 2008 to 2012. Kennedy has cited conflicts of interest as one reason for sacking the previous committee members. …

Another member, Vicky Pebsworth, has served on the board of the National Vaccine Information Center — a prominent advocacy group that warns against vaccine risks.

Dr. Retsef Levi, who’s at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has stoked concerns about the shots. In a social media post in early 2023, Levi said that all “COVID mRNA vaccination program[s] should stop immediately…because they completely fail to fulfill any of their advertised promises regarding efficacy” and there was “mounting and indisputable evidence that they cause unprecedented levels of harm, including the death of young people and children.”

Ok, so now we’re into the “fool me twice” zone. I’m sure Senator Cassidy might be willing to express some regret about this promise:

Or not.

At least Senator Cassidy (not to mention the rest of us) gets a consolation prize: an ongoing increase in the number of kids who are not vaccinated, suffer, and potentially die (or are disabled from) preventable illnesses.

Note: there’s a second consolation prize, which is that this will further tax our medical systems and, in cases where a child becomes disabled, social security and other social safety net benefits.