According to a report by Stat News on Thursday, a scheduled meeting of a panel of experts providing advice to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccines has been postponed. The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, initially set to convene starting on February 26, was expected to discuss and issue recommendations concerning various vaccines, including GSK’s meningococcal vaccine and AstraZeneca’s flu shot. However, the gathering will no longer take place, as reported by Stat News, citing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ director of communications. This decision comes in the aftermath of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s recent appointment as the Secretary of HHS, despite his known stance as a vaccine skeptic and critic of the CDC and other agencies under his purview. Both the HHS and CDC have yet to provide a response to requests for comments from Reuters. (Reporting by Puyaan Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
