By Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is calling for the Senate Health Committee to launch a bipartisan investigation into Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s recent firing of every member of a key vaccine advisory committee.
In a letter sent to committee chairman Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Sanders said purging members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization practices (ACIP) was “a dangerous and unprecedented decision that will have a profoundly negative impact on the lives of the American people.”
“I am requesting that we immediately initiate a bi-partisan investigation into these firings and conduct serious oversight into the actions Secretary Kennedy has taken to mislead the American people about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines and erode public health,” Sanders said in the letter.
A spokesperson for the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the letter.
Kennedy, who has a long history as an anti-vaccine activist, fired the entire 17-member panel last week, arguing a “clean sweep” was needed to purge conflicts of interest and help restore trust in vaccinations and public health. He replaced them with eight of his own handpicked members, including several vocal vaccine critics.
The move was an unprecedented escalation in Kennedy’s quest to reshape the nation’s vaccine policy. Sanders noted it “directly contradicts” one of the key promises Cassidy said he extracted from the HHS chief to secure his confirmation vote.
Before being elected to Congress, Cassidy was a physician who gained prominence by vaccinating low-income children. He publicly wavered over Kennedy’s confirmation, sharply criticizing his views on vaccines before eventually voting for him.
Following the ACIP firings, the Louisiana Republican wouldn’t say if HHS violated their agreement and instead pointed to a social media post.
“Now the fear is that the ACIP will be filled up with people who know nothing about vaccines except suspicion,” the senator wrote.
In his letter, Sanders said Cassidy’s “fear was wellfounded.”