Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said during an August meeting that the childhood vaccine schedule will be changing starting in September, former Centers for Disease Control director Susan Monarez told a Senate hearing on Wednesday.
Why it matters: Any move to alter childhood vaccine recommendations would be controversial and spark fears about political influence undermining scientific expertise.
What they're saying: "He said that the childhood vaccine schedule would be changing starting in September and I needed to be on board with it," Monarez told the Senate's health committee during testimony about the events leading up to her firing in August.
- "He did say that he had spoken to the president, he spoke to the president every day about changing the childhood vaccine schedule," she added.
Between the lines: It's not clear how Kennedy envisions changing the schedule, which is a long-established system for approving and recommending vaccinations.
- Monarez said she did not get into "substance" of how Kennedy's handpicked CDC advisory panel would recommend changes.
- The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will meet on Thursday and Friday to discuss who should get COVID-19, Hepatitis B and MMR vaccines.
- Monarez said she was fired in part because she refused Kennedy's request to "pre-approve" the advisory panel's changes to vaccine recommendations.
The other side: "The upcoming ACIP meeting will decide the outcome," Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson Andrew Nixon said in response to Monarez's testimony.
- "Any potential changes to the childhood vaccine schedule will be based on the latest available science and only after the ACIP recommends it and the acting CDC director reviews and approves those recommendations."
This story has been updated with the HHS response.
