RFK Jr. removes all members of the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee : Shots

The Department of Health and Human Services is removing all 17 members of a key advisory committee to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced the move on Monday afternoon in an opinion piece published by The Wall Street Journal. He also announced plans to put new committee members in place.

The Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices plays a key role in setting national vaccine policy, including the schedule of routine vaccines for children and adults. The gutting of the current committee removes an important check on changes in the administration’s approach to vaccine policy.

“A clean sweep is necessary to reestablish public confidence in vaccine science,” Kennedy said in the press release quoting the op-ed. “ACIP new members will prioritize public health and evidence-based medicine. The Committee will no longer function as a rubber stamp for industry profit-taking agendas.”

Kennedy previously claimed that the ACIP committee members have serious conflicts of interests, but a key government report he cited to back up the claim shows they do not, as NPR reported.

The American Medical Association said Kennedy’s decision undermines “trust and upends a transparent process that has saved countless lives.”