A new vaccine advisory committee led by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is set to meet this week to consider changes to vaccine recommendations, including COVID-19, hepatitis B, and chickenpox, amid concerns over anti-vaccine influence.

Kennedy's recent decisions have included removing COVID-19 vaccines from CDC recommendations for healthy children and pregnant women, diverging from previous reaffirmations and sparking criticism and legal challenges.

The committee's upcoming meeting, scheduled for September 18-19, has an unusually short notice with limited details, raising concerns among researchers about transparency and data presentation.

While vaccines undergo extensive testing, they can cause adverse reactions in some individuals, and the existing system is designed to determine legitimate injuries and provide compensation.

Reforming the vaccine injury compensation system is complex due to legal and political hurdles, and major changes could have unintended public health consequences.

Kennedy criticizes the Vaccine Court, established in 1986 to protect manufacturers and compensate injury victims, and has proposed modifications, including expanding the list of compensable injuries and linking vaccines to conditions like autism, despite a lack of scientific support.

Experts warn that such reforms could provoke pushback from industry and legal communities, risking the stability of the vaccine injury compensation system.

Kennedy has also criticized the current system as corrupt and broken, plans to overhaul it, and has sought to bring in legal personnel with anti-vaccine backgrounds, which could lead to legal and financial challenges.

Kennedy has expressed strong opposition to the existing vaccine injury system, advocating for its overhaul due to perceived inefficiencies, favoritism, and corruption, though he maintains he does not intend to remove vaccines from individuals.

The committee is reviewing the use of the MMRV vaccine versus separate MMR and varicella vaccines for chickenpox, amid debates about safety and side effects, including seizures.

The panel is also revisiting hepatitis B vaccination policies for newborns, focusing on maternal screening and the effectiveness of current strategies to prevent mother-to-child transmission.

Experts warn that changes to vaccine injury recognition or removing vaccines from the program could lead to confusion, reduced access for low-income families, and increased legal challenges.