RFK Jr. Dismisses Entire Vaccine Advisory Committee, Appoints Only 8 New Members

US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.) dismissed all 17 members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) this week.

Two days after the dismissal, he appointed eight new members to the committee, including several high-profile critics of mRNA vaccines and pandemic-era public health policies.

The committee, which has guided US vaccine recommendations for more than 60 years, was abruptly disbanded on June 9. Kennedy justified the move by citing what he described as “widespread conflicts of interest” with pharmaceutical companies, accusing the committee of acting as a “rubber stamp” for the vaccine industry.

According to a press release from the HHS, the agency said it took a “bold step in restoring public trust.”

“Today we are prioritizing the restoration of public trust above any specific pro- or anti-vaccine agenda,” RFK Jr. said. “The public must know that unbiased science — evaluated through a transparent process and insulated from conflicts of interest — guides the recommendations of our health agencies.”

Related: HHS Layoffs Update: FDA, NIH and CDC Layoffs, Resignations and New Hires

Meet the New Panel

Among the new appointees of the committee are Robert Malone, MD, a physician scientist known for his early contributions to mRNA vaccine research and more recently for promoting unproven claims about vaccine safety and opposing COVID-19 vaccination campaigns; Martin Kulldorff, PhD, a former Harvard epidemiologist who has criticized lockdowns and vaccine mandates; Vicky Pebsworth, PhD, a researcher with ties to vaccine-opposition groups; and Cody Meissner, MD, a pediatrician and professor at Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine with prior advisory experience at the FDA and CDC.

Malone, Kulldorff, Pebsworth and Meissner are listed in the dedication of RFK Jr.’s book, “The Real Anthony Fauci,” which attempts to undermine the former health official’s work and motivations before and during the pandemic, according to Stat.

Kulldorf co-authored the controversial Great Barrington Declaration and previously advised both the FDA and CDC on vaccine safety. He also previously served as a paid expert witness in litigation against Merck’s HPV vaccine, raising fresh concerns about potential conflicts of interest under the new lineup.

Pebsworth, Pacific region director of the National Association of Catholic Nurses, previously served on the FDA’s vaccine advisory committee. She has expressed concerns about vaccine safety, pointing to her son’s “serious, long-term health problems” following routine vaccinations at 15 months. Pebsworth also served on the board of the National Vaccine Information Center, a nonprofit organization that has promoted discredited claims linking vaccines to autism.

On X, RFK Jr. shared that the eight new members will attend ACIP’s scheduled June 25 meeting.

“The slate includes highly credentialed scientists, leading public-health experts and some of America’s most accomplished physicians,” RFK Jr. said in the post on X.

“All of these individuals are committed to evidence-based medicine, gold-standard science and common sense. They have each committed to demanding definitive safety and efficacy data before making any new vaccine recommendations. The committee will review safety and efficacy data for the current schedule as well.”

Other new members include Joseph Hibbeln, MD, a psychiatrist and neuroscientist who formerly led the Section on Nutritional Neurosciences at the NIH, where his work focused on immune function, brain development and mental health; Retsef Levi, PhD, an operations management professor at MIT Sloan School of Management and former faculty director of the school’s Food Supply Chain Analytics and Sensing Initiative; James Pagano, MD, a board-certified emergency medicine physician; and Michael Ross, MD, a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at both George Washington University and Virginia Commonwealth University, who also served on the CDC’s Advisory Committee for the Prevention of Breast and Cervical Cancer.

Experts Warn of Eroding Trust in Vaccine Oversight

The decision to overhaul the committee sparked backlash from public health experts and former committee members, who warn the dismissals undermine the transparency and scientific rigor that have historically defined vaccine policymaking in the US.

Critics argue that while RFK Jr. claims to be targeting conflicts of interest, the removal of the entire panel without any clear reason risks politicizing vaccine oversight and fueling public distrust.

The abrupt overhaul has serious implications for vaccine policy. ACIP plays a critical role in recommending which vaccines should be included in the US immunization schedule, which directly influences what vaccines are covered by insurance and public programs such as Vaccines for Children (VFC).

Changes to the committee’s makeup could disrupt access and affordability for key immunizations, particularly for underserved communities.

“We are particularly concerned by the appointments of vaccine critics like Drs. Malone and , and Vicky Pebsworth,” said Evan Seigerman, an analyst with BMO Capital Markets.

According to reporting by CNN, he raised concerns over how Malone “has contributed to COVID-19 conspiracies and vaccine critique” while Kulldorf “was against COVID lockdowns and vaccine mandates” and Pebsworth’s National Vaccine Information Center has been “widely criticized for spreading vaccine misinformation.”

Reuters addressed RFK Jr.’s accusations of ACIP corruption and conflicts of interest, citing a 2009 federal report that criticized the CDC for weak oversight of conflict-of-interest disclosures on its advisory panels. However, recent research suggests that such conflicts among vaccine committee members have significantly decreased in the years since.

According to Dr. Genevieve Kanter, a public policy expert at the University of Southern California, only about 5% of panel members disclosed conflicts in the past decade, down from 43% in 2000.

Kanter emphasized the need for transparency in the selection of new advisers appointed by RFK Jr., noting that potential financial ties to vaccine alternatives should be closely examined. “We don’t want to replace one conflict with another,” she said.

Before joining the committee, ACIP members must sell any stock in vaccine manufacturers and end any ongoing consulting relationships with those companies. They are also prohibited from accepting travel, meals or product royalties from vaccine makers — restrictions that extend to their immediate family members.

While members are allowed to participate in industry-funded vaccine clinical trials, and those grants may contribute to their salaries, they must submit annual financial disclosures and step aside from voting when specific conflicts of interest are present.

ACIP members have traditionally undergone a rigorous vetting process prior to their appointment, with the committee typically composed of 15 or more individuals.

Under current policies and procedures, the committee can only vote when a quorum is met, defined as more than half of the voting members being present. It remains unclear whether Kennedy plans to appoint additional members to the panel.

In a statement from the American Medical Association (AMA), the agency’s outgoing president Bruce A. Scott, MD, said: “For generations, ACIP has been a trusted national source of science- and data-driven advice and guidance on the use of vaccines to prevent and control disease. Physicians, parents, community leaders and public health officials rely on them for clinical guidance, public health information and knowledge. Today’s action to remove the 17 sitting members of ACIP undermines that trust and upends a transparent process that has saved countless lives. With an ongoing measles outbreak and routine child vaccination rates declining, this move will further fuel the spread of vaccine-preventable illnesses.”

Bobby Mukkamala, MD, inaugurated as the president of the AMA on June 10, raised concerns about the vetting process of the new panel.

“The AMA is deeply concerned to learn that new members have already been selected for the ACIP without transparency and proper vetting to ensure they have the expertise necessary to make vaccine recommendations to protect the health of Americans.”

He said the AMA urges “the Administration to reconsider the removal of the 17 ACIP members who have deep expertise in vaccines so physicians can continue to have confidence in ACIP’s recommendations, which have for decades helped them make recommendations to patients about vaccination. We will closely monitor the developments of ACIP and encourage the Administration to recommit to maintaining vaccine access for all Americans.”

Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccine scientist at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and an outside adviser on vaccines to the FDA, told CNN, “We’ve taken a giant step backwards.”

He said, “We had on that committee, before the purge, the kind of expertise and experience and institutional memory from which we benefited. We don’t have that anymore.”

Financial markets reacted swiftly to the news, with shares of major vaccine makers — including Moderna, Pfizer, BioNTech and Novavax — taking a hit amid uncertainty over the future of US immunization policy.