Washington DC - A Covid-19 expert recently resigned from a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) work group after Health Secretaryimplemented swift vaccine policy changes.
A Covid-19 expert with the Centers for Disease Control recently resigned after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. enacted new controversial vaccine policies. © Kevin Dietsch / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP
According to , pediatric infectious disease expert Dr. Lakshmi Panagiotakopoulos has stepped down from her role as co-leader of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a work group that advises outside experts on Covid-19 vaccines.
In an email to her colleagues in the group, Panagiotakopoulos, whose role was to gather information on topics for presentation, described her resignation as a "personal decision," saying she feels she is "no longer able to help the most vulnerable members" of the population.
Sources say she will soon also be leaving the agency entirely.
Her departure comes only a week after RFK Jr., who is a longtime anti-vaccine advocate, announced that Covid-19 vaccines for children and healthy pregnant women.
The group and other CDC officials were reportedly blindsided by Kennedy's announcement, as he avoided going through the regular channels to enact the move, leaving staffers to learn about the move through social media posts.
Since appointed RFK Jr. to his role, the president has overseen the firing of and termination of multiple federal agencies.
The ACIP is scheduled to meet from June 25 to 27, during which they will deliberate and vote on new recommendations for Covid-19 vaccinations.
