U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has dismissed all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), a key panel responsible for issuing official vaccine recommendations. The move, announced in a Wall Street Journal editorial, has sparked significant backlash from medical professionals and lawmakers.
Kennedy, a longtime vaccine sceptic, defended his decision by citing persistent conflicts of interest among ACIP members. “The committee has become little more than a rubber stamp for any vaccine,” he wrote, adding that the influence of pharmaceutical companies has eroded public trust in immunisation policy. He claimed most ACIP members have received substantial funding from the very industry they are tasked with regulating.
Eight of the dismissed members were appointed as recently as January 2025, during the final days of President Biden’s administration. Many are practising doctors and leading experts affiliated with top medical institutions. Under Kennedy’s reasoning, leaving them in place would have prevented President Trump from securing a majority on the committee until 2028.
During his Senate confirmation hearings, Kennedy pledged not to dismantle ACIP, a point reiterated by Republican Senator Bill Cassidy, who said he was given assurances that the panel would remain unchanged. Following Monday’s announcement, Cassidy expressed concern that ACIP may now be filled with unqualified individuals driven by suspicion rather than science.
Medical experts have sharply criticised the move. Dr. Bruce Scott, president of the American Medical Association, warned that Kennedy’s actions “upend a transparent process that has saved countless lives.” With the U.S. grappling with a measles outbreak and declining childhood vaccination rates, Scott cautioned that the dismissals could further erode public confidence and lead to the resurgence of preventable diseases.
Kennedy did not name any replacements for the ousted members. ACIP’s next meeting is set for June 25, with scheduled votes on key vaccine recommendations, including those for Covid-19, influenza, meningococcal disease, and RSV.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and ACIP chair Dr. Helen Keipp Talbot have not yet issued public comments on the unprecedented shake-up.
