New study casts doubts on RFK Jr.’s reasons for gutting vaccine panel

A version of this article first appeared in CNBC’s Healthy Returns newsletter, which brings the latest health-care news straight to your inbox. Subscribe here to receive future editions.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently gutted a key government vaccine panel, saying it was necessary to eliminate what he called “persistent conflicts of interest” on the committee. 

But new research from the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics appears to challenge that argument. Conflicts on that Centers for Disease Control and Prevention panel had been at “historic lows for years” before Kennedy restacked it with new members, some of whom are widely known vaccine critics, the researchers found.

The study, published in the medical journal JAMA on Monday, also found that the type of conflict considered to be the “most concerning” – income from vaccine makers – had been virtually eliminated among members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP. 

Conflicts of interest rates were also low on a separate panel of advisors to the Food and Drug Administration called the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, or VRBPAC, according to the research. 

Both groups are crucial to shaping U.S. vaccine policy: While the FDA committee advises the agency on whether to approve shots, the CDC panel determines who is eligible for jabs and whether insurers should cover them. The panels are typically made up of top experts in infectious diseases, pediatrics, immunology and public health.

Kennedy has long contended that the advisors on those panels have close ties to the pharmaceutical industry. At his first Senate confirmation hearing in January, Kennedy claimed that 97% of the CDC panel members had conflicts of interest.

“Before he was confirmed, I saw this 97% number and thought, wow, that’s some serious stuff. But after looking at the vaccine data myself, I certainly couldn’t see anything at that scale,” said the study’s lead author Genevieve Kanter, an associate professor of public policy at the University of Southern California, in an interview.

“I think it will be reassuring to the public and to the [Trump] administration that issues that we thought were pretty serious or in the past were serious are not anymore,” she added. 

The research comes as Kennedy, a prominent vaccine skeptic himself, overhauls federal health agencies and pursues efforts that could change immunization policy and undermine vaccine uptake in the U.S. 

The USC researchers analyzed reported financial conflicts of interest among experts on the two vaccine panels between 2000 and 2024. 

Here’s how conflicts of interest disclosures work on the panels, which meet several times a year to review vaccines: For each product being discussed, members must say if they have a tie to the vaccine maker or a competitor and disclose the nature of the relationship. People on the panel with conflicts either receive a waiver to participate if they are deemed to provide essential expertise, while those with conflicts considered too significant are recused. 

Since 2016, an average of 6.2% of ACIP members and 1.9% of VRBPAC members have reported a financial conflict of interest at any given meeting, according to the paper. During that period, less than 1% of reported conflicts on both panels were tied to personal income from vaccine makers, including consulting fees, stock, royalties or ownership. 

Rates of reported conflicts among ACIP members fell to 5% by 2024, and stayed below 4% among VRBPAC members since 2010, including 10 years where there were no reported conflicts at all. 

Conflict of interest rates were significantly higher in the early 2000s, peaking at around 43% for ACIP in 2000 and 27% for VRBPAC in 2007, the researchers found. 

The study said the decline over the years may be due to policy changes in 2007 that cracked down on conflicts of interest on the FDA panel, and “greater awareness and scrutiny” of conflicts in agency decision-making. It’s not clear when exactly the CDC committee began to do the same. 

Across the study period, the most frequently reported conflict of interest was research support, which is generally considered less of a concern than financial ties associated with personal income. Kanter said that’s a reflection of the panel members’ areas of expertise that are relevant to evaluating the safety, efficacy and applicability of shots. 

“The dominant conflicts were grant support for research. In a way that makes sense because, who do we want on these committees? It’s people with expertise on how to conduct research on these vaccines,” Kanter said. 

“These conflicts are not about personal gain, but related to measures of expertise.” 

While some of the rates appear to be higher with ACIP members than with people on the VRBPAC panel, Kanter said it is not comparable because the CDC provides “far less granular” data on conflicts of interest. She added that the FDA panel typically reviews one product at a time during a meeting, while the CDC committee evaluates multiple. 

Kanter said it is important to examine conflicts of interest and the influence of the pharmaceutical industry in many aspects of health-care regulation. 

But she added that “if we do want to focus on conflicts of interest, there may be other areas where the prevalence is a greater concern than what we’ve seen here with these vaccine panels.” 

Feel free to send any tips, suggestions, story ideas and data to Annika at annikakim.constantino@nbcuni.com.

Warren Buffett was just what the doctor ordered to stabilize UnitedHealth Group shares. 

Berkshire Hathaway’s 13F filing revealing a new stake of more than 5 million shares has helped lift the stock back above $300 — a far cry from the 52-week low of under $235 that it hit earlier this month.

This marks Berkshire’s first foray into the complicated area of managed care. David Tepper’s Appaloosa Fund also provided a vote of confidence in the embattled health care giant’s stock, boosting its stake to 2.5 million shares. 

For both, it’s a bet on recovery, but analysts say the wait could take well over a year.When assessing the purchases, Baird analyst Michael Ha invoked Warren Buffett’s own words about “complicated, uncertain investments” which belong in the “too hard pile.” 

In a note to clients, Ha wrote that UnitedHealth’s issues extend beyond pricing in its Medicare Advantage plans to real structural problems with its Optum health physician unit that aren’t as easily fixed. Ha added that “near-term execution risk is high and we see potential for the situation to worsen over the next 12-18 months before improving.”

For now, on a technical basis, UnitedHealth shares are trading above their 50-day moving average for the first time since the company first lowered guidance in April.

Feel free to send any tips, suggestions, story ideas and data to Bertha at bertha.coombs@nbcuni.com.

It’s that time of year again! I’m attending Epic’s annual Users Group Meeting, where thousands of health-care executives flock to the company’s 1,670-acre headquarters to learn about the company’s latest products and features. 

Epic is a health-care software company best known for its electronic health record, or EHR software. An EHR is a digital version of a patient’s medical record that’s maintained by doctors and nurses over time. Epic is the dominant EHR vendor in the U.S., and its technology is used in 3,300 hospitals and 73,000 clinics and by 325 million patients around the globe, according to the company.

Artificial intelligence was front and center at UGM this year, much like it was last year. During a three-hour-long executive address Tuesday morning, Epic executives shared updates about the roughly 200 new AI features it’s been developing for patients, clinicians and payers. Keep an eye out for additional coverage from CNBC that explains some of these upcoming features in more detail. 

Epic confirmed that it is developing its own AI-powered clinical documentation tool, which was one of the most anticipated announcements of this year’s event. These tools, which are often called AI scribes, are able to draft clinical notes in real time as doctors consensually record their visits with patients. 

A fiercely competitive AI scribing market has taken off as health-care executives search for solutions to help reduce staff burnout and daunting administrative workloads. Some AI scribing startups like Abridge and Ambience Healthcare have raised hundreds of millions of dollars from investors, and there was a lot of speculation about whether Epic would ultimately join the fray. 

The company said it is working on this feature in partnership with Microsoft, and that it will be available for limited use early next year. 

“AI is here, it’s accelerating, you can’t wish it away, you’ve got to keep up with it,” Epic’s President Sumit Rana said during the address. 

The presentations took place in Epic’s 11,400-seat underground auditorium called Deep Space, which is just one of the many unique facilities on campus. Epic’s office buildings are themed, with many inspired by science fiction and stories like “The Wizard of Oz,” the Harry Potter series and “Alice in Wonderland.” 

UGM meetings are also themed, and Epic executives famously take the stage dressed in costume. This year’s theme was “sci-fi,” and Epic’s 82-year-old founder and CEO Judy Faulkner wore a purple wig, bright green shoes and a metallic vest that appeared inspired by the fictional character, Buzz Lightyear. 

CNBC had the opportunity to sit down with Faulkner earlier this summer in a rare interview, where she reflected on her 46 years at the company’s helm. During her presentation on Tuesday, Faulkner discussed Epic’s AI initiatives and roadmap. 

“We are combining the intelligence and curiosity of the human being with the investigative capabilities of gen AI,” she said. 

Many of the new features Epic teased on Tuesday are still several months, or over a year, away. But it’s clear that Epic is leaning in on AI, and they didn’t let this year’s UGM attendees forget it. 

Read more about CNBC’s interview with Faulkner here.

Feel free to send any tips, suggestions, story ideas and data to Ashley at ashley.capoot@nbcuni.com.