Wyden and Hassan demand records from RFK Jr. over federal vaccine advisory panel changes

Senate Democrats Ron Wyden of Oregon and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire have launched an investigation into Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s changes to the administration’s vaccine policy, including what they describe as a remaking of a federal vaccine advisory panel, according to a letter they sent to Kennedy, as reported June 18 by The Hill.

In their letter, Wyden and Hassan demanded that Kennedy produce communications and other records related to who in the Trump administration determined the legal and public health consequences of the vaccine policy changes and the changes to the federal vaccine advisory panel, the report said.

Wyden and Hassan’s request centers on documentation they say is needed to understand decision-making behind the policy and panel changes, including communications that would identify the officials involved and the basis for determinations tied to legal and public health effects, The Hill reported.

The lawmakers said they want records that would show how the changes were evaluated and authorized, the report indicated, and they framed the inquiry around the process used to determine consequences rather than debating the underlying public health rationale in the letter.

The investigation comes as Kennedy oversees the Department of Health and Human Services, and it targets the internal communications surrounding changes to vaccine policy and the federal vaccine advisory panel structure, according to the account in The Hill.

A practical effect of such record demands is that the departments and officials named in the inquiry may need to compile internal communications, drafts, and related materials to respond to the senators’ questions, including records that can help establish how decisions were made and who participated.

The Hill reported that Wyden and Hassan tied their document requests to determining who made the determinations about legal and public health consequences, suggesting the senators’ focus is on procedural accountability and the administrative record underpinning changes to vaccine-related policy and the advisory body used to support it.