1. United States
2. Ark.
3. Letter

BREAKING: RFK Jr. lays the groundwork for a public health crisis of historic proportions as his FDA cancels its crucial annual meeting with the panel of scientific health experts that plans next year's flu vaccinations. The moment we all feared is finally arriving... According to The New York Times, the Food and Drug Administration — which falls under RFK Jr.'s purview as Health Secretary — sent an email to the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee informing them of the unceremonious cancellation of the meeting. No explanation was provided for the cancellation but RFK Jr. is well known for his deeply unscientific anti-vax positions. The meeting had been scheduled for March 13th. Dr. Paul Offit of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, a member of the committee, warned that the cancellation could interfere with or even delay the production of lifesaving influenza vaccines. "It’s a six-month production cycle. So one can only assume that we’re not picking flu strains this year," said Dr. Offit. Flu strains are usually chosen during the F.D.A. meeting which customarily occurs in February or March using data obtained from the World Health Organization. Of course, Trump ended the United States' relationship with the WHO at the beginning of his administration so the panel would have had their work cut out for them even if the meeting had not been cancelled. Production of the vaccines is supposed to begin in June but that can't happen until the strains are selected. It's unclear when, if at all, that will happen now. "The stakes are incredibly high," said Richard Hughes, an attorney for several vaccine makers. According to C.D.C. numbers, 86 children and 19,000 adults died from the flu this season. Another 430,000 people were hospitalized. If the vaccines are not produced during this cycle, those numbers could skyrocket to record numbers — overwhelming hospitals and leading to mass deaths.