The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has brought on Cynthia Nevison, an autism and climate researcher with ties to anti-vaccine groups, to work on preparing information around the hepatitis B vaccine schedule ahead of a meeting of CDC vaccine advisers.
A CDC official and a former official, both granted anonymity due to fear of retribution, confirmed Nevison’s hiring. They said she is working with the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ hepatitis B work group of CDC experts and ACIP members who review and present relevant data. The former CDC official said Nevison was brought on as a contractor.
Nevison joins the agency ahead of ACIP’s third meeting after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired the vaccine panel’s experts and remade it with his own hand-picked members. The panel, which votes on changes to the vaccine schedule, is slated to consider changes to the hepatitis B vaccine recommendations later this week. The shot is currently given at birth, but Kennedy has suggested it should be delayed for some infants.
It’s unclear what Nevison’s role will be after the meeting concludes.
