US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday dismissed an expert panel of vaccine advisers that has historically guided the federal governmentโs vaccine recommendations, saying the group is โplagued with conflicts of interest.โ
The entirety of the 17-member Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which advises the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the vaccine schedule and required coverage of immunizations, will be retired and replaced with new members, Kennedy announced in a Wall Street Journal op-ed. The HHS secretary has authority to appoint and dismiss ACIP members, who typically serve four-year cycles. But removing the entire panel prematurely is unprecedented.
Kennedy said that a number of the panelโs members โ traditionally pediatricians, epidemiologists, immunologists and other physicians โ were โlast-minute appointeesโ of the Biden administration. โWithout removing the current members, the current Trump administration would not have been able to appoint a majority of new members until 2028,โ he wrote.
Kennedy also said ACIP not been transparent in its vaccine recommendations. The committeeย recently considered narrowing the recommendations for Covid-19 vaccinations among children. Kennedyย announced last weekย that the vaccine schedule was updated โ without ACIPโs input.
๐จ BOMBSHELL: RFK Jr. just FIRED the ENTIRE CDC Vaccine Advisory Panel
— Rod D. Martin (@RodDMartin) June 9, 2025
ALL 17 MEMBERS GONE in the biggest shakeup of US health policy in decades!
THREAD๐งต pic.twitter.com/6NjmaAzfHo
