STAT+: RFK Jr.\u2019s new vaccine panel raises questions of how Kennedy defines conflicts of interest
\n \t
\n
<\/BR>
\n
\n \t
\n
<\/BR><\/p>\n
WASHINGTON \u2014\u00a0When health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dismissed the 17 members of the key panel that advises the federal government on vaccine recommendations, he claimed that their ties to the pharmaceutical industry had damaged public trust.<\/p>\n
However, new members of the panel \u2014 whose names were announced by Kennedy on Wednesday<\/a> in a social media post<\/a> \u2014 bring their own entanglements, as well as backgrounds rooted in vaccine skepticism, raising questions about how Kennedy is defining conflicts of interest, public health experts and a bioethicist say. Conflict of interest guidelines for members cite both financial ties and the need to disclose statements that could suggest a lack of impartiality around the vaccine or product being reviewed.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat is the definition of conflict of interest that is being applied here, and how is it different than it was, if at all? That\u2019s important,\u201d Jeffrey Kahn, director of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics, said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Continue to STAT+ to read the full story\u2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n