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As White House appoints pro-vaccine officials, plan for safety commission appears stalled

Robert Kennedy Jr. speaks with reporters after a meeting at Trump Tower in January.

Robert Kennedy Jr., the environmental activist and leading vaccine skeptic, says that it has been months since he has talked with White House officials about chairing a vaccine safety commission — and that the idea of such a panel may no longer be under consideration.

“I’ve had no discussions specifically about the vaccine safety commission, probably since February,” Kennedy told STAT. “You’d have to ask the White House. It may be that it’s evolved.”

Kennedy said, however, he has met with a series of top administration officials about vaccine safety since Trump took office, including officials at the upper ranks of the Food and Drug Administration and National Institutes of Health. He said those meetings took place at the request of the White House.

A White House spokesman, asked about

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