RFK Jr. Appoints Vaccine Critics To CDC Vaccine Panel After Firing Entire Advisory Committee: Report

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. named eight new members to the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices on Wednesday, including several anti-vaccine proponents, after dismissing all 17 existing advisers.

What Happened: The reconstituted panel includes Robert Malone, a prominent mRNA vaccine opponent aligned with Kennedy’s Make America Healthy Again movement, and Retsef Levi, who has called for the immediate withdrawal of mRNA vaccines, citing serious harm risks, according to a Reuters report.

The committee advises the CDC on immunization schedules after FDA approval, directly influencing insurance coverage and vaccine policy.

Kennedy justified the overhaul to “re-establish public confidence in vaccine science,” claiming prior Biden-appointed members had conflicts of interest without providing specific evidence. The new eight-member committee represents the minimum allowed under ACIP’s founding charter.

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Why It Matters: Kennedy previously fired the entire 17-member panel Monday through a Wall Street Journal op-ed, arguing it had become a “rubber stamp for any vaccine.”

The Trump administration simultaneously terminated a $600 million Moderna Inc. MRNA contract for mRNA bird flu vaccine development and removed COVID-19 vaccines from recommended schedules for healthy pregnant women and children. Kennedy’s broader healthcare restructuring eliminated 10,000 HHS positions to save $1.8 billion annually.

Market reaction was mixed, with Moderna Inc. MRNA and Pfizer Inc. PFE shares declining marginally while Novavax Inc. NVAX rose in after-hours trading. Earlier this year, FDA’s top vaccine official, Peter Marks, resigned after condemning Kennedy’s “misinformation and lies.”

The new panel will attend the June 25 ACIP meeting, originally scheduled to deliberate flu shots and 2025-26 COVID-19 booster recommendations. Critics argue Kennedy’s “medical freedom” messaging contradicts policies that restrict vaccine access.

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