HHS Revives ’90s-Era Task Force to Improve Childhood Vaccine Safety

On August 14, 2025, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced it is reviving the Task Force on Safer Childhood Vaccines, originally created in the 1980s and disbanded in 1998125.

This move is in response to demands from anti-vaccine activists and follows a lawsuit by a group founded by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who seeks changes to the childhood immunization schedule13.

The revived task force will focus on developing and refining childhood vaccines to reduce the number and severity of adverse reactions, improving the reporting of such reactions, and enhancing vaccine development, production, and distribution processes145.

The panel will be chaired by NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya and include senior leaders from the NIH, FDA, and CDC145.

The task force will collaborate with the Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines and submit its first formal report to Congress within two years, with biennial updates thereafter4.

Reinstating the panel is positioned by HHS as a 'reaffirmation of its commitment to rigorous science and public trust,' but some public health experts are concerned it could undermine confidence in the existing childhood vaccine schedule34.

The announcement comes amid recent broader changes to federal vaccine policy panels and rules under Secretary Kennedy’s tenure, including canceled mRNA vaccine contracts and an increase in school vaccine exemptions4.

Sources:

1. https://www.axios.com/2025/08/14/rfk-jr-hhs-covid-mrna-vaccines-children-safety

2. https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2025/aug/14/hhs-revives-child-vaccine-safety-panel-sought-by-a/

3. https://kffhealthnews.org/morning-breakout/hhs-reinstates-defunct-task-force-on-safer-childhood-vaccines/

4. https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/quality/patient-safety-outcomes/hhs-revives-childhood-vaccine-task-force-6-notes/

5. https://www.aha.org/news/headline/2025-08-14-hhs-revives-child-vaccine-task-force