HHS names new members on vaccine advisory committee

On Sept. 15, HHS appointed five new members to the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which is meeting later this week to vote on vaccines for COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.  In June, HHS removed all 17 standing members of ACIP and replaced them with eight handpicked members, one of which stepped down on the claim of financial conflicts of interest. Several of the new members have shared anti-vaccine rhetoric or made unfounded claims about vaccines, according to CNBC. 

The five newly appointed members are:

Catherine Stein, PhD, an epidemiologist and professor in Case Western Reserve University’s Department of Population & Quantitative Health Sciences and School of Medicine in Cleveland.

Evelyn Griffin, MD, an obstetrician and gynecologist at Baton Rouge (La.