On Monday, the Department of Health and Human Services announced Milhoan would take charge of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). Among other things, Milhoan has argued that COVID-19 vaccines cause cancer and abortion. Milhoan and other ACIP members are expected to discuss the childhood immunization schedule and hepatitis B vaccine this week.
antivax preacher
Milhoan was first appointed to ACIP this September, as part of the second round of new members added during RFK Jr.’s reign as HHS chief. Notoriously, Kennedy unilaterally dismissed all 17 previous ACIP members without notice earlier this year. He is replacing Martin Kulldorff as ACIP chair, who was appointed on Monday as chief science officer for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) at HHS.
Like many new ACIP members, Milhoan has a steady track record of making unsupported statements about the health risks of vaccination – to put it mildly.
As recently as October, speaking at a church in Texas, Milhoan claimed that COVID-19 vaccines are contaminated with “naked DNA” and that this contamination has led to an increase in cancer cases and abortions. During the same speech, he compared the recording of people’s COVID-19 vaccination history during the pandemic to the armbands that Jewish residents of German-occupied territories were forced to wear during the Holocaust.
The idea that COVID-19 vaccines cause cancer is a well-known conspiracy theory, though it has recently gained more support from the political right. There is no solid evidence for this claim, and in fact, some research this year has suggested that mRNA COVID-19 shots could actually enhance the effectiveness of existing immunotherapy treatments for cancer. Similarly, most research has failed to find any link between COVID-19 vaccines and miscarriage, even though pregnant women are at greater risk of poor health outcomes if they contract COVID-19.
The worst is yet to come
Unfortunately, reality is in short supply at HHS these days. And Milhoan and RFK Jr.’s remaining friends in the ACIP are soon ready to make things worse for the country.
At this week’s ACIP meeting, members are expected to vote against recommending hepatitis B vaccine for all children from birth – a safe and effective measure that has dramatically reduced hepatitis B cases in the US over the past thirty years, especially in children.
Also to be discussed at ACIP is the childhood vaccination program and whether it may contribute to food allergies (another crank theory supported by RFK Jr.) and other chronic diseases. The anti-vaccination movement has long been trying to destroy the program, and ACIP’s moves during this meeting could be the first step in accomplishing that goal.
It’s not just ACIP that has begun to echo the anti-vaccine sentiments of Kennedy and his ilk. Over the weekend, a leaked memo from Vinay Prasad, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), revealed that the agency plans to tighten the regulatory approval process for vaccines moving forward. As justification for the move, Prasad claimed that the FDA had recently discovered at least ten deaths in children due to the COVID-19 vaccine. Outside experts have expressed skepticism about the claim, noting that no detailed data supporting the FDA’s purported finding has yet been disclosed or submitted for peer review.
The situation looks bad in terms of vaccines. And it’s unlikely that we’re anywhere near hitting rock bottom.
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