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The Department of Health and Human Services has declined to clarify the responsibilities of longtime anti-vaccine advocate David Geier more than three weeks after Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. promised to provide them to Congress. The delay has left senators and public health observers without basic information about Geier's position inside an agency that oversees vaccine policy and research.

Kennedy made the commitment during an April appearance before the Senate Finance Committee. A spokesperson for Senator Ben Ray Luján, a New Mexico Democrat on the committee, said the office has received no follow-up materials or explanations. Geier remains listed among HHS personnel, yet the agency has offered no description of his title, scope of work, or whether he holds formal decision-making authority.

Geier and his late father Mark spent more than two decades promoting claims that vaccines cause autism. Their research, which focused on thimerosal and other vaccine components, drew repeated criticism from scientific bodies. A 2003 review by the American Academy of Pediatrics identified multiple conceptual errors, factual omissions, and methodological problems in one of their key papers. State medical boards eventually revoked Mark Geier's license after he administered Lupron, a puberty-blocking drug, to autistic children as an experimental treatment. David Geier has continued similar advocacy through organizations he helped establish, including the Institute for Chronic Illness.

The current placement of Geier at HHS occurs as the agency prepares for potential changes to federal vaccine recommendations and research priorities. Kennedy has long questioned the safety of the childhood immunization schedule and expressed interest in revisiting long-settled questions about vaccine injury. Placing an individual with Geier's record in a policy role raises questions about how the department will weigh existing epidemiological evidence against dissenting views that have not gained traction in peer-reviewed literature.

Advocates for autistic people have expressed alarm that Geier's involvement could influence research funding or public messaging. They note that past efforts by the Geiers often framed autism as a condition to be cured through unproven interventions rather than a neurodevelopmental difference requiring support services. Public health officials have warned that any perception of reduced commitment to vaccine safety monitoring could affect uptake rates, particularly in communities already hesitant about routine immunizations.

The administration has not explained why Geier's expertise was deemed necessary or how his past statements align with the department's statutory responsibilities. Without the promised contract details, it remains unclear whether Geier is serving in an advisory capacity, conducting internal reviews, or contributing to communications on vaccine policy. Congressional oversight appears stalled at this stage, leaving the public to assess the implications based on incomplete information.

Federal health agencies have historically maintained strict separations between staff engaged in core scientific functions and individuals whose prior work has been rejected by mainstream expert consensus. The current arrangement tests that boundary at a moment when trust in immunization programs faces renewed political pressure. How HHS resolves the questions surrounding Geier's role will offer an early signal about the standards it intends to apply to evidence and personnel decisions going forward.