On June 10, 2025, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a major shakeup in the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Vaccine Advisory Committee (ACIP). All 17 current members of the committee will be replaced, and a new group will be assembled by the end of June.
Kennedy stated in an article in The Wall Street Journal that this move aims to “restore public trust in vaccine science” and not to take a stand for or against vaccine policies. He criticized the close relationship between the current ACIP and pharmaceutical companies, emphasizing that the committee has “never rejected any vaccine”.
In a post on the social platform X, Kennedy said, “There was a time when the world relied on U.S. public health agencies to provide scientifically sound guidance. However, credibility has significantly eroded. We must regain trust through thorough transparency and the highest scientific standards.”
As a key advisory body to the CDC, the ACIP is responsible for making vaccine recommendations, which once approved by the CDC Director, become the national official guidelines and are covered by insurance plans free of charge. Kennedy has long questioned the committee’s lack of independence, stating that its decision-making has lost its impartiality.
This large-scale personnel change is the latest in a series of reforms by Kennedy. In late last month, he bypassed the ACIP voting process and announced on the X social platform that the federal government would no longer recommend COVID-19 vaccinations for healthy children and pregnant women, overturning the existing decision-making model, causing a stir.
The 17 members who were replaced were all appointed by the Biden administration, with 13 just coming into office in 2024. Kennedy stated that if there was no immediate reorganization, the current government might struggle to gain control of the committee during its term, and he believes that reform is urgent.
Regarding the composition of the new ACIP, he mentioned that he plans to introduce “diverse perspectives” to prevent dominance by a single position and will invite experts with different views on vaccines to participate in decision-making.
This move has sent shockwaves through the medical community. The American Medical Association (AMA) issued a statement condemning the action as “undermining public trust” and warned that amid the resurgence of vaccine-preventable diseases like measles, such changes could exacerbate public health risks.
Supporters, on the other hand, argue that this move will help rebuild trust in scientific and policy judgment from the outside. Prominent vaccine oversight advocate Del Bigtree told The Washington Post that this personnel arrangement is “not driven by extreme positions, but aims to make decisions that can garner support from all sides”.
The CDC website has already removed the list of original ACIP members on the evening of the 9th. Kennedy stated that the new committee will hold its inaugural meeting at the CDC headquarters in Atlanta from June 25th to 27th, and the current list of members is still being finalized.