Federal health officials have pulled back a charter for an important vaccine advisory committee due to what they’re calling an administrative mistake, according to a Monday notice in the Federal Register.
The Department of Health and Human Services explained that the withdrawal happened because they failed to follow proper timing rules required under federal regulations for making such changes.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had established a new charter on April 6 for the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the group that provides guidance to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about vaccine recommendations across the United States.
This committee has been central to Kennedy’s wider push to transform how the country approaches vaccine policy. He previously dismissed and replaced all 17 independent specialists who had been serving on the committee last year.
The updated charter came after a March 16 ruling by U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy in Boston, who was handling a lawsuit challenging some of Kennedy’s vaccine policy modifications. The charter broadened the committee’s responsibilities to include examining vaccine dangers, safety data, and membership qualifications.
Murphy’s decision had temporarily suspended the committee’s operations, determining that its current members didn’t meet the requirements outlined in their own charter.
Last month, the Trump administration filed an appeal against Murphy’s ruling, which had prevented significant policy shifts under Kennedy’s direction, including plans to reduce the number of standard childhood vaccine recommendations.
