Overview

• He fired all 17 members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and installed eight new appointees with records of vaccine skepticism.
• New members include Vicky Pebsworth of the anti-vaccine National Vaccine Information Center and Robert W. Malone, who has spread misinformation about mRNA vaccines.
• Health experts caution that a panel led by skeptics could alter longstanding vaccine recommendations and erode confidence in immunization programs.
• The overhaul coincides with a measles surge of about 1,200 cases in 34 states, with coverage among kindergarteners falling below the 95 percent threshold needed for herd immunity.
• Kennedy also canceled a $600 million Moderna contract for an avian flu mRNA vaccine and issued new COVID-19 booster guidance outside the standard scientific review process.