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2w ago

Kennedy Purges CDC Vaccine Panel Ahead of June Recommendations Vote

Experts warn the staffing overhaul could undermine vaccine guidance before votes on COVID-19, HPV, flu, meningococcal and RSV recommendations

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A general view of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia September 30, 2014. REUTERS/Tami Chappell/File Photo
U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies before the Senate Committee on Appropriations hearing on the Department of Health and Human Services budget, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 20, 2025. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno/File Photo

Overview

  • HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. retired all 17 members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices on June 10 and tapped eight new appointees, several of whom have histories of vaccine skepticism.
  • Former ACIP members published an essay in JAMA decrying the move as “destabilizing” and cautioning it may reverse decades of immunization progress.
  • Dr. Fiona Havers, who led CDC’s COVID-19 and RSV hospitalization data team, resigned over concerns that her data would not be evaluated with appropriate scientific rigor.
  • The revamped committee will meet June 25-27 to vote on recommendations for COVID-19 boosters and vaccines against HPV, influenza, meningococcal disease and RSV.
  • Public health experts caution that the panel shakeup risks eroding trust, reducing vaccination rates and exacerbating preventable disease outbreaks as measles cases climb.