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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced on Thursday that it is bringing back a federal task force aimed at enhancing the safety of childhood vaccines, nearly 30 years after the group was dissolved.
Originally established under the 1986 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act, the task force was intended to strengthen oversight, quality, and safety standards for vaccines given to children in the United States. It ceased operations in 1998 and has remained inactive until now.
The reinstated task force will be chaired by Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health, and will include top officials from the Food and Drug Administration and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
This group will collaborate with the Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines to develop recommendations aimed at producing vaccines that cause fewer and less severe side effects than current versions.
The department plans to deliver its first official report to Congress within two years, with subsequent updates provided every two years.
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