The head of a federal vaccine advisory panel, under the leadership of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., known for his anti-vaccine stance, recently stirred controversy through comments made on a podcast. Dr. Kirk Milhoan, appointed in December as chair of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, conveyed views that alarmed medical experts and elicited a strong response from the American Medical Association.
During an interview on the podcast “Why Should I Trust You,” Milhoan, who is a pediatric cardiologist, openly criticized established scientific methodologies, stating, “I don’t like established science,” and substituting it with “science is what I observe.” This sentiment drew significant concern from previous ACIP panels that rely on evidence-based methods to shape vaccine policy.
Although he claimed not to be anti-vaccine and asserted a focus on safety, Milhoan propagated unsubstantiated claims typically associated with anti-vaccine rhetoric. He inaccurately linked vaccines to conditions such as allergies, asthma, and eczema, and erroneously suggested that COVID-19 vaccines could be fatal to children. Furthermore, he equated vaccine side effects with the diseases they are designed to prevent, ignoring the fact that the potential harm from diseases is significantly greater than the minimal risks associated with vaccines.
When challenged by the podcast hosts, Milhoan questioned the effectiveness of the measles and polio vaccines in disease reduction and debated the necessity of routine vaccinations. He argued, “I think also as you look at polio, we need to not be afraid to consider that we are in a different time now than we were then,” referring to historical periods before polio vaccines were first developed in the 1950s. He suggested that improvements in sanitation and changes in disease risk should factor into evaluations of vaccine use, sparking criticism from the medical community.