RFK Jr is effectively disbanding the ACIP, which could result in recommendations for immunizations changing drastically.
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/09/rfk-jr-cdc-panel-vaccines.html
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday said he is "retiring" all 17 members of a crucial government panel of vaccine advisors, a shocking step that could help to sow doubts about immunizations in the U.S.
"A clean sweep is needed to re-establish public confidence in vaccine science," Kennedy said in an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal on Monday.
Kennedy is removing all members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, which advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The group reviews vaccine data and makes recommendations that determine who is eligible for shots and whether insurers should cover them, among other efforts.
ACIP members are independent medical and public experts who make recommendations based on rigorous scientific review and evidence. The CDC director has to sign off on those recommendations for them to become official policy.
It is unclear who Kennedy will appoint to the new group. In a release, HHS said ACIP will still hold a planned meeting from June 25 to 27 to make recommendations.
The advisor overhaul is the latest move by Kennedy – a prominent vaccine skeptic – to change and potentially undermine vaccinations in the U.S. since he took the helm at HHS. Under Kennedy, HHS stopped recommending routine Covid-19 vaccines for healthy children and healthy pregnant women and canceled programs intended to discover new vaccines to prevent future pandemics, among other changes.