Today, CIDRAP announced it is launching its Vaccine Integrity Project, which is an initiative that is designed to safeguard vaccine use in the US. It has a steering committee that will engage professionals across the country’s immunization landscape to gather feedback on how non-governmental entities may be able to help protect vaccine policy, information, and utilization.
Although not saying specifically the federal government’s changing approach to vaccines is the impetus for the project, one of the leaders of the project does want to ensure vaccine data and information is available for investigators, clinicians, and the general public.
“This project acknowledges the unfortunate reality that the system that we’ve relied on to make vaccine recommendations and to review safety and effectiveness data faces threats,” Michael Osterholm, PhD, MPH, Regents professor and director of CIDRAP, said in a statement. “It is prudent to evaluate whether independent activities may be needed to stand in its place and how non-governmental groups might operate to continue to provide science-based information to the American public.”
The steering committee will be comprised of 8 leading public health and policy experts to make recommendations for how vaccine use can remain grounded in the best available science, free from external influence and focused on optimizing protection of individuals, families, and communities against vaccine-preventable diseases. The steering Committee co-chairs are Margaret Hamburg, MD, former Commissioner of the FDA and co-president of the InterAcademy Partnership, and Harvey Fineberg, MD, PhD, president, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, past president of the US National Academy of Medicine (previously Institute of Medicine).
What You Need to Know
CIDRAP launched the Vaccine Integrity Project to uphold vaccine use, policy, and information in the U.S. amid growing concerns about potential threats to the traditional governmental vaccine oversight system.
The initiative will be guided by a steering committee of eight top public health and policy experts, co-chaired by Margaret Hamburg and Harvey Fineberg.
The project may lead to actions such as creating an independent network of experts to review vaccines, identifying research gaps, developing clinical guidelines, and reviewing government decisions for accuracy and transparency.
Across a series of information-gathering sessions, the Vaccine Integrity Project will engage professional medical associations, public health organizations, state public health officials, vaccine manufacturers, medical and public health academia, health insurers, healthcare systems, pharmacies, health media experts, and policymakers. Based on feedback collected during the sessions, future activities may be established, such as: establishing a network of subject matter experts to conduct vaccine evaluations and develop clinical guidelines based on rigorous and timely reviews; strengthening the evidence base by identifying knowledge gaps and recommending studies to enhance vaccine-related evidence, practice, and policy; and reviewing government decisions and messaging to provide clear, evidence-based information, where needed.
Discussions will help shape the potential scope, membership criteria, and operational factors, including priority issues, timely and effective communication channels, and triggers for activation and deactivation of such efforts.
Founded in 2001, CIDRAP works to prevent illness and death from targeted infectious disease threats through research and the translation of scientific information into practical applications, policies and solutions.
Reference
1.CIDRAP Launches Vaccine Integrity Project. CIDRAP press release. April 24, 2025. Accessed April 24, 2025.
https://twin-cities.umn.edu/news-events/cidrap-launches-vaccine-integrity-project
