Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he is removing every member of the independent panel advising the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccines, an unprecedented escalation in his quest to reshape the agency.
In a Wall Street Journal op-ed released Monday, Kennedy said the move was necessary to restore faith in vaccines.
“A clean sweep is needed to re-establish public confidence in vaccine science,” Kennedy wrote.
“The public must know that unbiased science—evaluated through a transparent process and insulated from conflicts of interest—guides the recommendations of our health agencies,” Kennedy said in a subsequent statement.
Kennedy said removing every member of the panel will give the Trump administration an opportunity to appoint its own members. Kennedy has long accused ACIP members of having conflicts of interest, sparking concern among vaccine advocates that he would seek to install members who are far more skeptical of approving new vaccines.
“The prior administration made a concerted effort to lock in public health ideology and limit the incoming administration’s ability to take the proper actions to restore public trust in vaccines,” Kennedy said.
The panelists are not political appointees. The ACIP meets three times a year to review data on vaccines and recommend how they should be used. It is comprised of independent medical and public health experts who do not work for CDC. Members are appointed to four-year terms
The panel recently considered narrowing the recommendations for COVID-19 vaccinations for children and was next scheduled to meet later this month to review and vote on recommendations. The HHS statement indicated the meeting will continue as scheduled at CDC's Atlanta headquarters.
Ahead of Kennedy's Senate confirmation vote, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said Kennedy pledged to maintain the panel "without changes."
A Cassidy spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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