Baseless speculation?
As the ACIP was cheered for disbandment, the accuracy of the claim also came into doubt. Decades ago, Malone was a researcher who worked on mRNA technology, but has since been described by his former colleagues as “unstable” and “pretty wacky”. He embraces anti-vaccine views and the “anti-vaxxer” label – and has suggested that vaccines cause “a kind of AIDS”, among other things.
After Malone made his claim Thursday, Ars Technica contacted the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which oversees the CDC, for confirmation and comment. Just before 10 p.m. ET, Malone reposted the claim on social media:
“I have now been told that this was a miscommunication, and a decision has not actually been made about how to proceed, and disengagement and reform is one of the [the] “Options are being considered.”
Subsequently, HHS responded to Ars Technica, pointing to Malone’s withdrawal and adding a statement from HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon: “Until we make an official announcement, any claims about what we are doing next are baseless speculation.”
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal on Thursday, Malone said he and others were told the committee would be disbanded. The Journal also obtained a text message sent by Malone to other ACIP members on Thursday, saying, “I am so tired of the incompetence of HHS,” and that HHS was trying to throw her “under the bus” because of her earlier statements. Malone confirmed the text messages to the Journal.
It is unclear whether Kennedy and HHS are considering recreating ACIP. In a statement, the advocacy group Defend Public Health emphasized that, whatever Kennedy does, HHS needs to follow federal rules, as indicated by Judge Murphy’s decision. “It seems the easiest way to do this is to reconstitute the committee he wrongfully fired, which was put together after proper legal processes. But if he wants to start from scratch, he will still have to follow the law.”
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