Kennedy removes all CDC vaccine panel experts

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday fired all 17 members of the advisory committee on immunization to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, saying that the move would restore the public’s trust in vaccines.

About two-thirds of the panel had been appointed in the last year of the Biden administration, Kennedy pointed out in announcing his decision in an opinion column for The Wall Street Journal.

The CDC’s vaccine advisers wield enormous influence. They carefully review data on vaccines, debate the evidence and vote on who should get the shots and when. Insurance companies and government programs such as Medicaid are required to cover the vaccines recommended by the panel.

The committee was supposed to meet June 25 to 27. It’s unclear when the new members will be announced, but the meeting will proceed as planned, according to a statement posted by the Department of Health and Human Services.

This is the latest in a series of moves that Kennedy, a vaccine skeptic, has made to dismantle decades of policy standards for immunizations. An advisory panel more closely aligned with Kennedy’s views has the potential to significantly alter — or even drop — the recommendations for immunizations to Americans, including childhood vaccinations.

The decision directly contradicts a promise Kennedy made to Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., during his confirmation hearings, when he said he would not alter the panel, called the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

“Of course, now the fear is that the ACIP will be filled up with people who know nothing about vaccines except suspicion,” Cassidy wrote on social platform X.

Public health experts reacted strongly to Kennedy’s announcement, calling it an extreme and reckless decision.

“I don’t think there’s any way to put this, other than saying that this is an unmitigated public health disaster,” said Dr. Sean O’Leary, chair of the infectious disease committee for the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Far from restoring trust, the move will exacerbate mistrust in vaccines, O’Leary said. “Both parents and pediatricians are really confused by the actions right now, and this is only going to make things worse.”

He said the pediatric academy would continue to provide advice and recommendations for an immunization schedule.

Dr. Richard Besser, who served as acting director of the CDC in 2009, said Kennedy’s decision was shocking and unsurprising at the same time.

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