• Government lawyers challenged expanded role of CDC adviser Retsef Levi
• New role would give vaccine critic expansive powers
• HHS said concerns were addressed, ‘process is legally sound’
• Experts warn of risks from ignoring HHS legal advice

Sept 17 (Reuters) - U.S. government lawyers attempted to block a vaccine skeptic appointed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. from assuming new powers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that could be used to restrict access to COVID-19 shots, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Retsef Levi, a professor of operations management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, serves as an outside adviser to the government on vaccines. He was elevated to the head of a work group with CDC on COVID immunization in August.