In a shocking move on Monday, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. dismissed all 17 sitting members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). The abrupt “overhaul” of the independent body, which has long guided U.S. vaccine policies, comes just two weeks before its scheduled June 25 meeting to set winter vaccination strategies.
Kennedy, a longtime anti-vaccine activist, framed the dismissals in a Wall Street Journal op-ed as a “critical step to restore public trust,” alleging “chronic conflicts of interest” among committee members. But Brown University epidemiologist Jennifer Nuzzo stated bluntly: “This is exactly what we feared when he became HHS secretary.”
ACIP’s decisions directly impact every American’s access to vaccines: The committee meets three times annually to determine which groups should receive shots like pneumonia, chickenpox, and measles vaccines, when to administer them, and whether insurance will cover costs. The upcoming June meeting was set to finalize guidelines for COVID, flu, and RSV vaccines this winter—agenda items now thrown into doubt by the mass ousting.
An HHS spokesperson confirmed the June 25 meeting will proceed but admitted new member screening is underway. Nuzzo questioned: “How can they vet experts in just three weeks?” Her bigger fear is the committee being stacked with anti-vaccine advocates: “If that happens, Americans might not get shots their doctors recommend.”
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