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Conflicts of Interest |
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In a May 8, 1991 letter to Secretary Sullivan, the National Vaccine
Information Center had asked Secretary Sullivan to remove two prominent
physicians from the Immunization Practices Advisory Committee (ACIP), the
Department of Health and Human Services advisory committee which makes
national vaccine policy and is responsible for creating the new DPT guidelines.
NVIC asked for the resignations of Dr.
James Cherry of UCLA, and Dr.
Edward
Mortimer of Case Western University, citing their conflict of interest
for receiving MORE than $800,000 in expert witness, consulting fees, and
research grants from DPT vaccine manufacturers. In the Department of Health
and Human Services reply, Assistant Secretary Dr. James Mason gave no indication
that DHHS would consider removing Cherry or Mortimer or any other doctor
on the vaccine policy-making committee who has benefited financially from
vaccine manufacturers. If this is not a conflict of interest, what is it?
There are only five doctors that reside on the policy-making committee
and two of those had received financial assistance from the pharmaceutical
companies. Is there something wrong with this picture?
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