IMMUNOLOGY2026™ Conference Recordings For Attendees-The Vaccine Integrity Project: why evidence matters…now more than ever

Video Transcription

Video Summary

The transcript centers on the current crisis in vaccine policy, public trust, and scientific infrastructure in the United States. Bruce Gellin explains the role of the Vaccine Integrity Project (VIP), launched about a year ago to respond to growing threats to evidence-based vaccine policy. He argues that “vaccination” and “vaccine” are distinct but connected worlds, and that the scientific foundation behind recommendations is being undermined by political interference, confusion, and weakened federal processes.<br /><br />VIP’s mission is not to make recommendations, but to support medical societies with independent evidence reviews, rapid responses to misinformation, and coordination across the vaccine community. It has already produced reviews on respiratory-season vaccines and hepatitis B birth dose, with more on HPV, DTaP in pregnancy, and future respiratory vaccines planned. He emphasizes the importance of the evidence-to-recommendation framework once used by ACIP, which considered benefits, harms, values, equity, feasibility, and cost.<br /><br />Dan Jernigan then describes broader damage to the vaccine ecosystem: cuts to research funding, staff departures, uncertainty for manufacturers, disruption of regulatory pathways, and weakening of vaccine safety monitoring. He notes that more than 10,000 doctoral-trained federal experts have left in the past year, and trust in CDC and public health institutions has fallen sharply, while trust in individual scientists remains relatively stable.<br /><br />Both speakers stress that restoring trust will require honesty, transparency, better communication, local messengers, and active engagement beyond scientific “bubbles.” The session closes by urging continued advocacy for NIH/NIAID funding and stronger public engagement to protect immunology and public health.

Meta Tag

Date April 17, 2026 8:30 AM - 10:00 AM

Room 205

Session The Future of Vaccination and the Critical Need for Evidence-Based Policies - Sponsored by the AAI Committee on Public Affairs

Speaker Bruce Gellin

Track Vaccines and Immunotherapy (VAC)

Year 2026

Keywords

vaccine policy

public trust

scientific infrastructure

Vaccine Integrity Project

evidence-based recommendations

ACIP

vaccine misinformation

CDC trust

vaccine safety monitoring

public health advocacy

April 17, 2026 8:30 AM - 10:00 AM

205

The Future of Vaccination and the Critical Need for Evidence-Based Policies - Sponsored by the AAI Committee on Public Affairs

Bruce Gellin

Vaccines and Immunotherapy (VAC)

2026