Lawyer with ties to Kennedy sparks outcry over vaccine misinformation at CDC advisory meeting

An anti-vaccine lawyer who has regularly sued federal and state health agencies spoke Friday at a meeting of the CDC's vaccine advisory panel.

An anti-vaccine lawyer who has regularly sued federal and state health agencies spoke Friday at a meeting of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory panel — an unheard-of departure for the committee, which for decades was a trusted source for vaccine recommendations.

The lawyer, Aaron Siri, has also served as the personal attorney for Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime anti-vaccine activist.

Siri delivered a lengthy presentation about the childhood immunization schedule, chronicling what he said were concerning adverse events from routine vaccines and calling particular attention to vaccines for hepatitis B, pneumococcal disease and a combination shot for diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (whooping cough). Previously, Siri has advocated for the Food and Drug Administration to revoke its approval of the polio vaccine.

Art Caplan, head of the division of medical ethics at NYU Langone Medical Center, said Siri’s presence at the meeting suggests that the panel, known formally as the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, is “trying to use a pre-committed ideology to get where they want to go, which is to get rid of childhood vaccination.”

“This is a science issue, and he’s the wrong guy, with the wrong conflicts, with the wrong style, with the wrong information,” Caplan said.