US Health Secy removes members of committee advising CDC on vaccine usage

US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has vowed to replace all 17 members of the committee with his picks, according to a press statement shared by the Department of Health and Human Services

US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr on Monday (local time) announced the removal of all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). The scientific panel advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on vaccine use.

 

Kennedy has vowed to replace all 17 members of the committee with his picks, according to a press shared shared by the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and in an opinion piece published by The Wall Street Journal.

 

While Kennedy has not specified who he would appoint to the panel, he did inform that the panel would convene in just two weeks in Atlanta. 

 

Elaborating on why all the members of the committee were removed, Kennedy, who was once a leading anti-vaccine activist before taking over the role of top health official, said the members had too many conflicts of interest. He mentioned that they had become “little more than a rubber stamp for any vaccine”.

 

He further added, "Without removing the current members, the current Trump administration would not have been able to appoint a majority of new members until 2028. A clean sweep is needed to re-establish public confidence in vaccine science.”

 

Kennedy vows transparency, claims to rebuild trust

 

According to a press release shared by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Kennedy said, “Today we are prioritising the restoration of public trust above any specific pro- or anti-vaccine agenda. 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.” 

 

In an X post, Kennedy wrote, “The entire world once looked to American health regulators for guidance, inspiration, scientific impartiality, and unimpeachable integrity. Public trust has eroded. Only through radical transparency and gold standard science, will we earn it back.”

 

Criticism of the reconstitution of ACIP members 

The move has drawn criticism from a major physicians' group, Associated Press reported. Citing Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, the Associated Press report mentioned that he termed the mass ouster by Kennedy “a coup”.

 

Benjamin further added that such a move raises questions about whether future committee members will be viewed as impartial.

 

The American Medical Association said that the decision taken by Kennedy “undermines the trust and upends a transparent process that has saved countless lives”. The report suggests that the committee has been in a fix ever since Kennedy took over the role.