RFK Jr. removing, replacing all members of CDC vaccine advisory panel

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he is “retiring” all 17 members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and “reconstituting” the panel.

“The committee has been plagued with persistent conflicts of interest and has become little more than a rubber stamp for any vaccine. It has never recommended against a vaccine—even those later withdrawn for safety reasons,” the secretary wrote in an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal.

“It has failed to scrutinize vaccine products given to babies and pregnant women,” he added. “To make matters worse, the groups that inform ACIP meet behind closed doors, violating the legal and ethical principle of transparency crucial to maintaining public trust.”

RFK Jr. referenced a 2001 House Government Reform Committee that investigated ACIP’s recommendation of a rotavirus vaccine. Half of the members who voted in favor of the vaccine had financial ties to companies developing different rotavirus vaccines.

“The new members won’t directly work for the vaccine industry,” RFK Jr. wrote. “They will exercise independent judgment, refuse to serve as a rubber stamp, and foster a culture of critical inquiry—unafraid to ask hard questions.”

Dear readers: We recognize that politics often intersects with the financial news of the day, so we invite you to click here to join the separate political discussion.