Here's Meryl Dorey's claim, made September 22, 2011 on the Australian Vaccination Network Facebook page (image and link at the bottom of the post).
At the time the FDA committee was considering approving this vaccine, he sat on that committee and even though he excused himself from the vote, he was there for the preliminary debate.
She is entirely wrong.
Dr. Offit was a member of an entirely different committee at the Centers for Disease Control, the Advisory Council on Immunization Practices (ACIP). He was invited to join because of his expertise in rotaviruses and intestinal immunology. He served from October 1998 until June 2003.
A previous vaccine against rotavirus, RotaShield, was voted onto the US immunization schedule early in 1998 (note: before Dr. Offit was on the ACIP). He did vote to approve Rotashield for the Vaccines for Children program, which subsidizes vaccines for low-income families.
The ACIP voted to approve RotaTeq in February 2006, two years and 9 months after Dr. Offit had left the committee.
The facts laid out above have been public knowledge for years. Ms. Dorey is either knowingly misrepresenting the facts, or is unable to take in new information.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) consists of 15 experts in fields associated with immunization, who have been selected by the Secretary of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services to provide advice and guidance to the Secretary, the Assistant Secretary for Health, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on the control of vaccine-preventable diseases. In addition to the 15 voting members, ACIP includes 8 ex officio members who represent other federal agencies with responsibility for immunization programs in the United States, and 30 non-voting representatives of liaison organizations that bring related immunization expertise. The role of the ACIP is to provide advice that will lead to a reduction in the incidence of vaccine preventable diseases in the United States, and an increase in the safe use of vaccines and related biological products. The Committee develops written recommendations for the routine administration of vaccines to children and adults in the civilian population; recommendations include age for vaccine administration, number of doses and dosing interval, and precautions and contraindications. The ACIP is the only entity in the federal government that makes such recommendations.
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Posted by: psd to wordpress | Friday, February 17, 2012 at 10:48 PM