2 physicians to take additional seats on ACIP vaccine board; meeting scheduled for March

Two physicians will join the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).

Sean G. Downing, M.D. an internal medicine physician, and Angelina Farella, M.D., a pediatrician, were announced as the newest members late Feb. 27.

“ACIP must scrutinize the evidence openly, ask hard questions, and earn the nation’s confidence through transparent deliberation,” Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.,said in a statement. “Dr. Downing and Dr. Farella bring decades of real-world experience caring for children, adults, and families — and that frontline perspective is essential to making recommendations that are grounded in gold-standard science and worthy of public trust.”

Kennedy said the additional members are part of an effort to promote transparency, rigorous science and diverse clinical expertise in the nation’s immunization policy process.

The newest members are:

• Downing, a Florida-licensed physician who has practiced primary care for more than 20 years. His work has included internal medicine and pediatric concierge care in Sarasota, Florida. He has admission privileges at Sarasota Memorial Hospital, according to his official bio announced by HHS.

Downing’s website said he earned his master’s degree in physiology at Georgetown University and the year after was accepted to the Georgetown University School of Medicine. He completed adult internal medicine and pediatric residencies at Brown University, and had a three-year commitment as a National Health Service Scholar in a medically underserved area of southern New Hampshire. In fall 2019, Downing opened his own medical practice treating adults and children.

• Farella is a pediatrician and owner of A Brighter Tomorrow Family Health and Wellness in Webster, Texas. She has practiced pediatric medicine for more than two decades and has led her own practice since 2004, according to her HHS bio.

Farella completed medical school at the Ross University School of Medicine in Portsmouth, Dominica, and her residency in pediatrics at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. Farella has held academic appointments as a clinical assistant professor at the University of Texas Medical Branch and as an adjunct clinical professor at William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine. In her practice biography, Farella said she was inspired to become a physician at age 10 when her brother was in an accident and had to go into intensive care.

CDC Acting Director Jay Bhattacharya, M.D., Ph.D., said the appointments add experienced clinicians to the advisory panel.

“Public health works best when the science is rigorous and the process is transparent,” Bhattacharya said in a statement. “These appointments strengthen ACIP with experienced clinicians who understand how immunization guidance matters for patients and families.”

The appointment news release came on what should have been a February meeting day of ACIP. The February meeting was postponed to March 18 and 19.

In the last year, the board, its deliberations, policies and statements on vaccine safety and efficacy have sparked a firestorm of debate across the U.S. health care community. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has filed a federal lawsuit to block implementation of the nation’s newest pediatric immunization schedule. At least 70 various medical and advocacy organizations have announced their support for AAP.

ACIP advises the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which establishes the vaccine schedule. As of Jan. 20, more than half of the 50 states had announced they would not follow the CDC’s recommendations for childhood vaccines. Last week, California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes announced a multistate lawsuit against HHS also challenging the immunization schedule announced in January.

In June last year, Kennedy’s announcement to fire existing ACIP members and appoint new ones sparked criticism from national medical groups, and since then, those organizations have criticized ACIP pronouncements and public presentations on use of thimerosal in shots, on vaccine mandates and on using other countries as examples that the United States should emulate.