U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has fired all 17 members of the federal vaccine advisory committee, and the fallout is already raising major concerns.
The former panel members, all experts on immunization, say the mass firing has done serious damage. In a joint editorial published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, they warned that Kennedy’s decision stripped the vaccine program of decades of knowledge and stability. They called it a reckless move that could threaten vaccine access and reverse decades of progress in public health.
Kennedy defended the decision in The Wall Street Journal, calling the committee a “rubber stamp” plagued by conflicts of interest. He argued a total reset was needed to rebuild public trust. Just two days later, he installed eight new members, some with known ties to him and a few with past vaccine-skeptical stances.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is the team that reviews vaccine safety and effectiveness, making national recommendations. Traditionally, the CDC director approves those decisions—but since the position is currently unfilled, Kennedy has taken that power into his own hands.
He told ABC News the newly appointed members won’t be “anti-vaxxers,” just objective scientists re-evaluating past decisions, including the list of vaccines recommended for kids.
The former members aren’t buying it. They said Kennedy’s reshuffle could weaken immunization policy, lower trust among healthcare providers, and put families at risk of serious diseases. They highlighted data showing nearly every American child receives at least some CDC-recommended shots—and those vaccines have saved millions of lives while preventing hundreds of millions of illnesses.
They also noted that from 1994 to 2023, childhood vaccines prevented over 1.1 million deaths and saved the country trillions in healthcare and societal costs.
The new vaccine committee is expected to meet later this month to vote on recommendations for several shots, including COVID-19, flu, and HPV. But with so many changes in leadership, experts worry whether science will stay at the center of the conversation.
