(Reuters) – Robert F. Kennedy Jr, a vaccine critic who has pledged to tackle chronic disease, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as Health Secretary on Thursday, after overcoming resistance from the medical establishment and members of Congress with promises to limit his role in vaccine policy.
As head of the health department, which oversees more than $3 trillion in healthcare spending, Kennedy would have authority over agencies including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Here are some pending regulatory decisions and meetings on vaccines coming up over the next few months:
EXPECTED REGULATORY EVENT COMPANY
DATE
Feb 14 FDA decision on company’s GSK plc
5-in-1 meningococcal vaccine
candidate
Feb 14 FDA decision on company’s Bavarian Nordic
chikungunya vaccine, Vimkunya,
in individuals 12 years and
older
Feb 26 CDC’s Advisory Committee on GSK plc
Immunization Practices (ACIP)
to vote on GSK’s meningococcal
vaccine
Feb 26 CDC’s ACIP to vote on AstraZeneca
company’s influenza vaccine
Feb 27 CDC’s ACIP to vote on GSK plc
company’s Respiratory
Syncytial Virus vaccine in
high-risk adults 18-
49 years old
Feb 27 CDC’s ACIP to vote on Moderna
company’s Respiratory
Syncytial Virus vaccine,
mRESVIA, in high-risk adults
18 to 59 years old
April FDA decision on Emergency Use Novavax
Authorization of company’s
2024-2025 formula COVID-19
vaccine (NVX-CoV2705)
May 31 FDA decision on company’s Moderna
next-generation COVID-19
vaccine (mRNA-1283)
June 10 FDA decision on company’s Merck
monoclonal antibody designed
to protect infants from RSV
disease
(Reporting by Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)
