When Dr. Paul Spearman accepted an appointment to the vaccine advisory committee to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, he did not imagine the level of public attention it would be getting.
"Absolutely not," said Spearman, director of the division of infectious diseases at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.
But he understands the public interest and scrutiny, he says. A pandemic will do that. And he thinks the attention is good.
Spearman has been on the FDA's Vaccine and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee since May 2018 and will continue at least through January.
Committee members review data on the safety, effectiveness and appropriateness of vaccines and related biological products. Spearman said that includes considering vaccine strategies and whether boosters are needed. Twice a year, he said, they meet to discuss what the next strains of flu might be and the makeup of flu vaccines for the upcoming season.
If the FDA commissioner agrees with committee advice to move ahead on a vaccine, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has its own committee consider data before the CDC makes its recommendations.
But if you tune into the committee's discussion Tuesday on the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11, don't expect to see Spearman. He's taking a backseat, watching the meetings just as anyone from the public can but not participating. (The FDA meeting is expected to be aired on its YouTube channel.)
"I do not attend as a voting member on COVID-19." Taking part could be perceived as a conflict of interest, he said, so he recuses himself as do other committee members involved in COVID-19 vaccine and booster trials.
Cincinnati Children's has 11 clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccines underway at its Gamble Center for Vaccine Research, hospital officials said, with about 1,400 area residents, ages 6 months to 85 years old, taking part. More than 350 children are among them.
Spearman has a close view of the vaccine studies (sometimes even leading them) and their results, and he says that data show the vaccines are effective and safe.
“Even though it was done quickly, we have great evidence of the vaccine safety and of course the vaccine efficacy," Spearman said. "And so I think the public should have a lot of confidence in these vaccines and in the transparency of the way that they've been developed and the way that the information is coming out on the vaccines. It’s out there and available for everyone, which I think is really tremendous. And if we could just stay away from the misinformation, the true information is actually incredible.”
A virologist and vaccinologist, Spearman joined Cincinnati Children’s in September 2016. "I came because I see this as an ideal children's hospital, integrating cutting-edge research with cutting-edge clinical care," he said.
Day to day, Spearman treats children with all kinds of infectious diseases and leads a research laboratory focusing on HIV biology.
The AIDS epidemic in the 1980s drew Spearman to the study of infectious diseases and, particularly, HIV.
"I was working at Ohio State as a resident when AIDS was hitting hard in the Midwest," Spearman said. Watching the troubles involved in treating people with AIDS was "a life-changing moment for me," he said. "It inspired me to go into infectious diseases."
Now 61, Spearman said he's inspired by his "ability to lead a division of great colleagues and to train the next generation of infectious disease doctors."
"Those of us who've been around for a while, we feel a big responsibility to make sure that the infectious disease workforce of the future is in good shape, and it's not easy," Spearman said. "We need to do heavy recruiting. We need to get the word out. Dr. (Anthony) Fauci helps us a lot because of his national presence, and so he's inspired some people to join our ranks. And we invite a lot more to join our ranks.”
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