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2d ago

RFK Jr. Adds Five to CDC Vaccine Panel Ahead of Votes on COVID, Hepatitis B and MMRV

The expanded roster will weigh recommendations that could alter federal coverage for several vaccines.

First lady Michelle Obama talks to White House Executive Chef Cristeta Pasia Comerford as local 5th graders look on during the White House Kitchen Garden Fall Harvest on October 20, 2010.
Robert Kennedy Jr.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during a Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission meeting at Dept. of Health and Human Services headquarters in Washington, D.C., Sept. 9, 2025.

Overview

  • HHS named Catherine Stein, Evelyn Griffin, Hillary Blackburn, Kirk Milhoan and Raymond Pollak to ACIP, bringing the panel to 12 members.
  • The committee meets Thursday and Friday, Sept. 18–19, in Atlanta to discuss and potentially vote on recommendations for COVID-19, hepatitis B, MMRV and RSV vaccines.
  • Pediatric leaders warn access could shrink for children if ACIP aligns with FDA’s narrowed authorization for this season’s COVID-19 shots without CDC clarification affecting Vaccines for Children coverage.
  • Public health experts fear the panel could drop the universal newborn hepatitis B dose recommendation, a policy long credited with preventing mother‑to‑infant transmission.
  • The latest appointments follow Kennedy’s June removal of all prior ACIP members and last month’s firing of CDC Director Susan Monarez, with lawsuits and congressional scrutiny ongoing.