Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s recent takeover of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory committee was alarming enough. Now the health and human services secretary is reportedly considering something with potentially even greater impact: Upending the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, the panel of independent experts that guides everything from chronic disease screenings to mental health wellness.
Kennedy is planning to fire all 16 scientists and physicians on the task force,unnamed sources familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal and NBC News. If the reports are correct and Kennedy does take action, his legacy won’t just be undermining vaccine policy; it will be the dismantling of the entire framework of evidence-based prevention.
Established more than 40 years ago, the panel helps clinicians decide what tests and preventive treatments to offer patients from birth to older adulthood. It gained additional significance after the passage of the Affordable Care Act, which required that recommended services be covered by most insurance plans.
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