Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has opened a new chapter of federal vaccine policy that invites questions on issues long considered to be settled and that pushes anti-vaccine priorities into mainstream government guidelines.

During his Senate confirmation hearings, Kennedy said he wouldn’t undermine vaccines.

“I am not going to go into HHS and impose my preordained opinions on anybody at HHS,” he said. “I’m going to empower the scientists at HHS to do their job and make sure that we have good science that is evidence based.”

Over the course of a two-day meeting this week, Kennedy’s handpicked panel of vaccine advisers said they would launch an investigation into the cumulative effect of the childhood and adolescent vaccine schedules and consider new recommendations for shots that have long been on the market.

“Vaccines are not all good or bad,” said Martin Kulldorff, the committee’s new chair and a former Harvard University professor. “No questions should be off-limits.”

The panel also voted to effectively remove an ingredient from flu shots that has long been the target of anti-vaccine activists, including Kennedy, despite numerous studies showing it is safe.

The vote was not unanimous with two of the seven members abstaining or voting “no” on the question of only recommending thimerosal-free flu vaccines.

“I think this is a prelude to them demonstrating their ability to go in with this committee, make........

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