Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. abruptly canceled a U.S. Preventive Services Task Force meeting this week, raising alarm bells for members worried that it might be Kennedy’s latest target for a purge, according to multiple reports.
A similar move came just before the country’s top health official last month fired the entire 17-member board of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory panel.
An email sent to attendees did not cite a reason for the cancellation, health news publication STAT reported.
“Moving forward, HHS looks forward to engaging with the Task Force to promote the health and well-being of the American people,” the department wrote in a short email sent to people planning to attend the Thursday meeting.
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HHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NOTUS about why the meeting was canceled and if there is an expected date for its rescheduling.
The 16-member Preventive Services Task Force is responsible for making key recommendations on which preventive health care services, like cancer screenings and HIV testing, and technologies must be covered by health insurers.
Thursday’s meeting, which was scheduled to be in person, was set to include a discussion of recommendations around “healthy diet, physical activity, and/or weight loss to prevent cardiovascular disease in adults,” focused on “behavioral counseling interventions,” a person familiar with the meeting told CNN.
Last month, the Supreme Court ruled that Kennedy had ultimate control over the USPSTF and could remove members at his own discretion, as well as review their recommendations before they are implemented.
Kennedy in June also dismissed all 17 members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, and two days later named eight new picks for the influential panel, which reviews and selects the vaccines recommended to the public each season. At least half of Kennedy’s picks have a history of expressing vaccine skepticism.
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