RFK Jr Replaces Entire US Vaccine Advisory Board With Controversial Members

US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has replaced all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), a federal panel critical to vaccine policy and recommendations, with eight new appointees, several of whom have expressed skepticism about vaccine safety and efficacy. The dismissed experts, who were leaders in immunology, epidemiology, and public health, have raised concerns that this overhaul threatens to destabilize vaccine policy, weaken the country's vaccine infrastructure, and jeopardize access to lifesaving immunizations. ACIP's recommendations have been foundational in shaping immunization programs in the US, including insurance coverage and government vaccine purchases for low-income families. Among the new appointees is an MIT professor who publicly called for halting COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, a stance widely disputed by the broader medical community. Public health experts, including prominent epidemiologists, warn that the changes could lead to reduced vaccination rates and increased disease outbreaks, citing recent measles outbreaks as a warning sign. Kennedy defends the new members as committed to evidence-based medicine and demanding definitive safety data before endorsing vaccines, despite widespread criticism from the scientific community.