The Department of Health and Human Services Aug. 14 announced it will reinstate the Task Force on Safer Childhood Vaccines, a federal panel to provide oversight on vaccines for U.S. children. The original task force was disbanded in 1998. HHS said the new group will work with the Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines to provide recommendations on developing, promoting and refining childhood vaccines that result in fewer and less serious adverse reactions than vaccines currently available, as well as improvements in vaccine development, production, distribution and adverse reaction reporting. 

The new group will be led by senior leadership from the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya will serve as chairman.