CIDRAP launches Vaccine Integrity Project to help safeguard US vaccine use

Anti-science
Adult (non-flu) Vaccines
MMR vaccine vial on table

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As the United States experiences a large measles outbreak and faces a continuing barrage of vaccine misinformation and cuts to public health programs, the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) at the University of Minnesota is launching a project to help ensure safe US vaccine use.

Funded by an unrestricted gift of $240,000 from Alumbra, a foundation established by philanthropist Christy Walton, the Vaccine Integrity Project will be led by an eight-member steering committee of leading public health and policy experts from across the country.

"This project acknowledges the unfortunate reality that the system that we've relied on to make vaccine recommendations and to review safety and effectiveness data faces threats," CIDRAP Director Michael Osterholm, PhD, MPH, said in a University of Minnesota news release.

"It is prudent to evaluate whether independent activities may be needed to stand in its place and how non-governmental groups might operate to continue to provide science-based information to the American public."

Focus on optimizing vaccine protection

The steering committee will be cochaired by Margaret Hamburg, MD, former commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and current co-president of the InterAcademy Partnership; and Harvey Fineberg, MD, PhD, past president of the National Academy of Medicine and current president of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

The committee will make recommendations on how non-governmental entities such as CIDRAP can help ensure that vaccine use stays grounded in the best available science, free from external influence and focused on optimizing protection of individuals, families, and communities against vaccine-preventable diseases.

This project acknowledges the unfortunate reality that the system that we've relied on to make vaccine recommendations and to review safety and effectiveness data faces threats.

Michael Osterholm, PhD, MPH

During three information-gathering sessions over the next 4 months, the Vaccine Integrity Project will engage professional medical associations, public health organizations, state public health officials, vaccine manufacturers, medical and public health academic experts, health insurers, healthcare systems, pharmacies, health media experts, and policymakers. 

The discussions will help determine the scope, membership criteria, and operational factors such as priority issues, timely and effective communication channels, and triggers for their activation and deactivation.

Based on feedback gathered in the sessions, the Vaccine Integrity Project may involve:

  • Establishing a network of subject matter experts to conduct vaccine evaluations and develop clinical guidelines based on rigorous and timely reviews
  • Strengthening the evidence base by identifying knowledge gaps and recommending studies to enhance vaccine-related evidence, practice, and policy
  • Reviewing government decisions and messaging to provide clear, evidence-based information, where needed

CIDRAP will give regular updates and publish output on Vaccine Integrity Project progress after the discussions are complete.

Need for evidence-based response

While vaccines are thoroughly vetted in clinical trials before authorization and approval in the United States, a growing chorus of voices have called their safety and efficacy into question and seeded misinformation and distrust among the public.

For example:

  • This week, a group of eight Republicans in the Minnesota House of Representatives introduced a bill written by a Florida hypnotist that would label mRNA therapies and vaccines such as those against COVID-19 "weapons of mass destruction" and make having or administering them a crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
  • A KFF poll released yesterday on how Americans view the rapidly growing measles outbreak found that most adults are aware of it, and though large majorities are confident about the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, doubts driven by misinformation linger.
  • US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has ordered a study on the already-debunked claim that vaccines and autism are linked, has made massive cuts to HHS staff and programs that hinder the country's ability to fight infectious diseases.
  • The newly confirmed National Institutes of Health Director, Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, has said he would support revoking the regulatory authorization to market COVID-19 mRNA vaccines.

"Is there a role for another body or group of individuals to address those issues?" CIDRAP Director Michael Osterholm, PhD, MPH, asked. "This is not about one person; it's about an entire system."

Osterholm emphasized that the project is not a substitute for the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which makes recommendations on vaccines to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): "Let me be clear, there is no alternative to the ACIP."

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