Secretary Kennedy Fires, Quickly Renames CDC Vaccine Advisory Committee Members

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On June 9, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. an in the Wall Street Journal announcing that he had removed all 17 sitting members from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which evaluates and makes recommendations to CDC on the appropriate use of Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved vaccines. Kennedy claimed this step was necessary to restore public confidence in vaccines, citing the committee’s lack of transparency in its decision-making and members’ conflicts of interest. These claims, however, are disputed—ACIP holds open meetings and makes public the information it is considering, and members are rigorously vetted for conflicts of interest, which are on the committee’s website.

This announcement sparked major backlash from elected officials, industry, and , and is the latest in a series of efforts by the Kennedy-led HHS to undermine public trust in vaccines and roll back access to immunizations. Among the responses from provider and patient groups, the President of the American Medical Association (AMA) that this action “undermines [public] trust and upends a transparent process that has saved countless lives. With an ongoing measles outbreak and routine child vaccination rates declining, this move will further fuel the spread of vaccine-preventable illness.”

 Secretary Kennedy later appointed eight new members to ACIP on June 11, saying the group “includes highly credentialed scientists, leading public-health experts, and some of America’s most accomplished physicians” who are “committed to demanding definitive safety and efficacy data” for both new vaccines and those on the current immunization schedule. However, several appointees are known anti-vaccine activists, critics of COVID-19 and mRNA-based vaccines, and purveyors of health misinformation. These new members will participate in ACIP’s next meeting on June 25–27). Secretary Kennedy can appoint up to 11 more members to join the committee. These abrupt firings and questionable appointments raise concerns about ACIP’s future recommendations, which are used to inform CDC actions to cover vaccines for free through federal programs such as the Vaccines for Children’s program. ACIP recommendations also dictate the vaccine coverage available without cost sharing through Medicaid, Medicare, and commercial insurance.

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