U.S. HEALTH SECRETARY KENNEDY FIRES VACCINE ADVISORY COMMITTEE – All 17 members of a U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention panel of vaccine experts have been fired
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has fired all 17 members of a U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention panel of vaccine experts and is in the process of replacing them, drawing protest from many vaccine scientists.
The move is another in a series of actions by Kennedy to reshape U.S. regulation of vaccines, food and medicine. Scientists and experts said the changes to the vaccine panel, which recommends how vaccines are used and by whom, would undermine public confidence in health agencies. Kennedy promised the move would raise public confidence.
In a statement from the Department of Health and Human Services, Kennedy wrote, “Today we are prioritising the restoration of public trust above any specific pro- or anti-vaccine agenda.”
Kennedy and HHS provided no specific evidence of industry conflicts of interest among departing ACIP members.
17 ACIP members were appointed under former President Joe Biden’s administration, including 13 in 2024, HHS said. Without their removal, Trump’s administration would not have been able to choose a majority of the committee until 2028.
