RFK Jr. Conducted a Pointless Vaccine Purge

The Wall Street Journal Letter on Vaccine Purge

The Wall Street Journal recently published a letter co-authored by David R. Henderson and Charles L. Hooper, discussing the controversial vaccine purge conducted by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The letter highlights the lack of evidence provided for the allegations of conflicts of interest, particularly in relation to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).

As noted in the editorial “RFK Jr. Conducts His Vaccine Purge”, Kennedy fired the 17 members of ACIP without substantial proof of conflicts of interest, emphasizing the importance of unbiased science in health agency recommendations. The letter draws parallels to the FDA’s exclusion of members with industry ties, which has not shown any significant impact on drug approval outcomes.

The authors reference a study by Sidney Wolfe and colleagues published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, which evaluated the influence of conflicts of interest on FDA advisory committee decisions. The study concluded that excluding members with conflicts would not have altered any outcomes, indicating a lack of tangible impact.

Therefore, Henderson and Hooper argue that until proven otherwise, there is no reason to assume ACIP faced similar issues prior to the purge initiated by Kennedy.

David R. Henderson

Hoover Institution

Pacific Grove, Calif.

Charles L. Hooper

Objective Insights, Inc.

Grass Valley, Calif.

Charley provided additional evidence from the JAMA article supporting their claims, ensuring the credibility of their argument. Despite being pressed for time on Father’s Day, Henderson managed to fulfill the editor’s request for verification before celebrating the occasion.