Physician in AIDS Dispute Returns to Job
The county’s top epidemiologist, Dr. Peter Kerndt, resumed work Wednesday, one month after being placed on administrative leave for his role in a controversial AIDS vaccine preparedness study.
County Health Services Director Mark Finucane said the administrative inquiry into Kerndt’s leadership role in the study is continuing, however, and that his return to work does not mean the department has cleared him of allegations of wrongdoing.
Finucane has said Kerndt improperly committed the county and its resources to the long-term AIDS study, which is being administered by the National Institutes of Health’s infectious disease center. The study has sparked controversy in South Los Angeles, where residents fear they could be used as unwitting guinea pigs in scientific experiments if and when an AIDS vaccine is approved for testing on the general public.
Kerndt--and some of this superiors--deny he did anything wrong, and Kerndt’s lawyer has demanded an apology from county officials and says his client will sue if he does not get one.
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