HHS secretary RFK Jr. and the American Academy of Pediatrics are at a odds above COVID-19 vaccines.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has responded to the American Academy of Pediatrics' decision to release its own vaccine recommendations that contradict federal guidance.

The AAP, a professional organization of over 65,000 board-certified pediatricians, said in June that it would publish its own vaccine schedule. The move came after Kennedy Jr. announced that the COVID-19 vaccine would no longer be included in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommended immunizations for healthy children and pregnant women.

Kennedy Jr.'s declaration drew ire from some in the medical community as it went against previous expert guidance and bypassed the normal scientific review process. Under the new guidance, the only people recommended for COVID-19 vaccines are those over 65 and individuals with existing health issues.

Kennedy Jr. later drew more backlash when he fired all 17 original members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the committee of health experts that provides guidance on vaccine use to the CDC, replacing them with members that critics have called unqualified. Some of the members, like Kennedy Jr., have a history of anti-vaccine advocacy and involvement in anti-vaccine groups.

In response, the AAP said the federal process was no longer credible and it would "continue to publish its own evidence-based recommendations and schedules."

AAP publishes vaccine guidelines that break from CDC

AAP published the schedule, which details the vaccines children should receive at certain ages, on Aug. 19. The CDC had already broke from Kennedy Jr.'s urging to remove the vaccine recommendation entirely and instead softened its language, suggesting parents consult with their child's physician on whether to vaccinate for COVID-19.

However, the AAP took a stronger stance in favor of immunization, recommending that all children between six months and 23 months receive the latest COVID-19 vaccine to reduce the chance of serious illness.

"The AAP will continue to provide recommendations for immunizations that are rooted in science and are in the best interest of the health of infants, children, and adolescents," AAP President Dr. Susan J. Kressly said in a statement on Aug. 19. "Pediatricians know how important routine childhood immunizations are in keeping children, families and their communities healthy and thriving."

RFK Jr. responds to vaccine schedule: 'AAP is angry'

Kennedy Jr. took to the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, to respond, sharing a screenshot from the AAP's webpage that named its top donors.

"These four companies make virtually every vaccine on the CDC recommended childhood vaccine schedule. AAP is angry that CDC has eliminated corporate influence in decisions over vaccine recommendations and returned CDC to gold-standard science and evidence-based medicine laser-focused on children’s health," Kennedy Jr. wrote.

The screenshot showed a page from the AAP website titled "Corporate Donors to the AAP Friends of Children Fund," under which pharmaceutical companies Pfizer, Moderna, Merck and Sanofi were listed as "president's circle" donors, meaning they gave $50,000 or more. Pfizer and Moderna are the leading manufacturers of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines in the United States.

"AAP today released its own list of corporate-friendly vaccine recommendations. The Trump Administration believes in free speech and AAP has a right to make its case to the American people. But AAP should follow the lead of HHS and disclose conflicts of interest, including its corporate entanglements and those of its journal—Pediatrics—so that Americans may ask whether the AAP’s recommendations reflect public health interest, or are, perhaps, just a pay-to-play scheme to promote commercial ambitions of AAP’s Big Pharma benefactors," Kennedy Jr.'s post continued.

Kennedy Jr. added that AAP should "be candid with doctors and hospitals that recommendations that diverge from the CDC’s official list are not shielded from liability under the 1986 Vaccine Injury Act."

The HHS secretary, who co-founded the anti-vaccine group Children’s Health Defense, has himself been accused by critics of profiting from anti-vaccine narratives in the past, both for a failure to properly disclose how much he made serving as chairman and chief litigation counsel for the nonprofit and via payments for consulting with a law firm involved in an vaccine lawsuit, which he publicly promoted. Kennedy Jr. said before his confirmation as health secretary that he would cut ties with both.

AAP hits back at RFK Jr.

AAP responded to Kennedy Jr.'s accusations in a statement by President Dr. Susan J. Kressly, shared with USA TODAY on Aug. 19

"This attack on the integrity of pediatricians is unfortunate, but it does not change the facts. For nearly a century, the American Academy of Pediatrics' mission has focused on one thing: following the science to best protect children's health," Kressly said.

"Our immunization recommendations are rooted in decades of peer-reviewed science by the nation's leading health experts," she added. "We are transparent about our funders, follow rigorous conflict-of-interest disclosures and maintain safeguards to ensure the integrity and independence of our guidance. We welcome an opportunity to sit down with the Secretary to review our recommendations and restore our seat at the table."

Federal guidance for the fall is still up in the air, as the new Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices didn’t vote on COVID-19 vaccine recommendations when they met in June. They are expected to reconvene in "September/October," according to the CDC.

However, the FDA has signaled intentions to revoke the Pfizer COVID-19 shot for young, healthy children. In early August, HHS also announced that it would pull $500M in funding from mRNA vaccine research and development, the same technology behind the COVID-19 vaccine.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: RFK Jr. responds to vaccine guidance that goes against CDC: ‘AAP is angry’

Reporting by Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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