Paediatric neurologist, Dr John Gaitanis is to lead the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC), a federal advisory panel that provides recommendations on autism-related priorities in the United States.
Gaitanis was appointed by U.S. Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., with the appointment taking effect on Friday, September 18, replacing Dr Sylvia Fogel, who had chaired the committee since January.
Gaitanis, who was appointed last month as director of the National Institutes of Health’s child health institute, previously served as director of child neurology at Brown University.
HHS Spokesperson, Emily Hilliard, said the appointment was intended to strengthen the committee’s focus on implementing its strategic plan and improving coordination among federal agencies.
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During Fogel’s tenure, the committee developed and adopted a new strategic plan addressing medical care, housing, ageing and other priorities affecting people with autism and their families.
The committee also recommended that the U.S. Government adopt the term “profound autism” for people with high support needs.
Under Fogel’s leadership, the IACC recommended increased federal funding for autism-related research and programmes across agencies including the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The IACC provides non-binding recommendations to the U.S. Government on autism-related priorities.
Its new strategic plan does not include vaccines or research into a possible link between vaccines and autism.
Gaitanis has publicly supported allowing families to decide whether to vaccinate their children and has served as a paid medical expert in vaccine-injury cases, including cases involving the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine.
Kennedy said during a committee meeting that Gaitanis was appointed because the panel had traditionally been chaired by one of its federal members, according to people familiar with the meeting.
Fogel, a Harvard Medical School instructor and parent of an adult child with autism, will remain a member of the committee and is expected to assist with the transition.
Kennedy praised the committee’s recommendations and Fogel’s work, while saying the panel had previously fallen short of its responsibilities, according to people familiar with the meeting.
The appointment followed Kennedy’s reorganisation of the committee earlier this year, when its previous members were replaced with a new group that included individuals who had questioned vaccine safety.
The U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and other major public health bodies have consistently found no evidence that vaccines cause autism.
Reuters
