RFK Jr. removes all members of CDC vaccine advisory committee

Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. said that he would soon pick his own members for the CDC vaccine advisory committee.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday removed every member of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) scientific vaccine advisory committee and pledged to replace them with his own picks.

Robert F Kennedy Jr. had recently said that the committee members had too many conflicts of interest.(Reuters)

The move to oust all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunisation Practices was condemned by major physicians' groups.

Before becoming America's top health official, Kennedy was one of the nation's biggest anti-vaccine activists. RFK Jr has not yet revealed who he would appoint to the panel, but said that it would convene in just two weeks in Atlanta.

“Without removing the current members, the current Trump administration would not have been able to appoint a majority of new members until 2028,” Kennedy wrote, adding that "a clean sweep is needed to re-establish public confidence in vaccine science."

Kennedy had recently said that the committee members had too many conflicts of interest. The panel members routinely disclose any conflicts at the start of public meetings.

‘Breaking a promise’

Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, termed Kennedy's mass ouster of the panel as "a coup".

“It’s not how democracies work. It’s not good for the health of the nation,” he told The Associated Press.

Benjamin said that the move raises real concerns about whether the future members of the vaccine advisory committee will be seen as impartial.

He said that Kennedy "is breaking a promise", adding that "he said he wasn't going to do this".

Dr Bruce A Scott, president of the American Medical Association, called the panel a trusted source of science and data-driven advice, adding that Kennedy's move will increase the number of diseases that can be prevented by vaccines.

“Today’s action to remove the 17 sitting members of ACIP undermines that trust and upends a transparent process that has saved countless lives,” Scott said in a statement.

Kennedy Jr recently also took the unusual step of changing the Covid-19 recommendations, without first consulting the panel.