Secretary Kennedy Guts CDC Vaccine Panel, Announces Replacement Plans
Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. removed all 17 members of the Center for Disease Control (CDC) vaccine panel known as the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP). According to Kennedy, the ACIP has never recommended against the implementation of a vaccine.
In an op-ed piece for the Wall Street Journal, Secretary Kennedy made the announcement.
“Today, we are taking a bold step in restoring public trust by totally reconstituting the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP). We are retiring the 17 current members of the committee, some of whom were last-minute appointees of the Biden administration,” Kennedy wrote.
He also noted the effect this decision will have on the current presidency.
“Without removing the current members, the current Trump administration would not have been able to appoint a majority of new members until 2028.”
Kennedy further explained his rationale for “reconstituting” the ACIP and removing its current members, who he claims have been affected by “conflicts of interest.”
“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 It has never recommended against a vaccine—even those later withdrawn for safety reasons. It has failed to scrutinize vaccine products given to babies and pregnant women. 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.”
Kennedy’s plan for the new ACIP members will aim for the independence of judgment and inquiry regarding vaccines, unlike the previous group:
“The problem is their immersion in a system of industry-aligned incentives and paradigms that enforce a narrow pro-industry orthodoxy. The new members won’t directly work for the vaccine industry. They will exercise independent judgment, refuse to serve as a rubber stamp, and foster a culture of critical inquiry—unafraid to ask hard questions.”
Kennedy noted that in the 1960s, the US was considered a global standard for medicine, which has since then eroded.
“Public trust has since collapsed, but we will earn it back,” he resolved.
Earlier in the month, Secretary Kennedy made a decision that could be seen as a precursor to reconstituting the ACIP. The CDC announced it will no longer recommend the COVID-19 vaccine to healthy children and pregnant women on its recommended immunization schedule.
