Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has completed a dramatic overhaul of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, replacing all 17 members with eight new appointees in what the department called a "bold step" to restore public confidence in vaccine science.
The announcement came just two days after Kennedy "retired" the entire existing committee, citing the need for a "clean sweep" to reestablish trust in vaccine recommendations. In a Wednesday afternoon post on X, Kennedy introduced the eight new ACIP members who will attend the committee's scheduled June 25 meeting.
New Committee Composition
The newly appointed members represent a significant shift in the committee's composition and include several individuals known for their critical views on current vaccine policies:
- Joseph Hibbeln: A psychiatrist and nutritional scientist who served as acting chief of the Section on Nutritional Neurosciences at the National Institutes of Health for 14 years
- Martin Kulldorf: An epidemiologist formerly at Harvard Medical School who was let go in 2024
- Retsef Levi: A professor at MIT's Sloan School of Management focusing on supply chains and management science
- Robert Malone: A biochemist who contributed to early mRNA vaccine research in the 1980s
- Cody Meissner: A professor of pediatrics at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
- James Pagano: An emergency medicine physician
- Vicky Pebsworth: A nurse with a doctorate in public health and regional director of the National Association of Catholic Nurses
- Michael Ross: An obstetrician and gynecologist at George Washington University and Virginia Commonwealth University
Several appointees bring federal advisory experience, with Kulldorf and Meissner having previous ACIP experience, Pebsworth having served on FDA vaccine advisory committees, and Ross having worked on a CDC advisory committee for breast and cervical cancer prevention.
Controversial Selections
The appointments reflect Kennedy's well-documented skepticism toward current vaccine policies. According to STAT News, Malone, Kulldorff, Pebsworth, and Meissner are all named in the dedication of Kennedy's book "The Real Anthony Fauci," which criticizes the former NIAID director.
Kulldorff co-authored the Great Barrington Declaration, which criticized COVID-19 lockdowns while promoting "herd immunity" concepts. Current NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya also authored this document. Malone, whose current occupation remains unclear, conducted mRNA research in the 1980s but now opposes mRNA vaccine technology.
Industry and Expert Reactions
Financial analysts have expressed concern about the committee changes' impact on vaccine development. William Blair analysts stated they "view the complete line change at the ACIP as a potential hindrance to the vaccine development space, as we think the new Committee members may have more restrictive recommendations on vaccine uptake and use."
Leerink Partners similarly predicted that "new members will likely be sympathetic to at least some of RFK's beliefs regarding alleged dangers of vaccines."
BMO Capital Markets analysts described the move as "a broad negative to our coverage in the vaccine space," specifically naming Merck, Pfizer, and BioNTech as companies most likely to be affected by the development.
Unprecedented Process Speed
The rapid appointment process has drawn criticism from scientific experts. Virologist Angie Rasmussen noted on Bluesky that "the process for ACIP membership usually takes years of vetting, particularly for conflicts of interest. Have these people undergone the same level of scrutiny?"
Kennedy's Rationale
In his announcement, Kennedy stated that "all of these individuals are committed to evidence-based medicine, gold-standard science, and common sense." The new members will review safety and efficacy data for the current vaccination schedule.
In a Wall Street Journal opinion piece, Kennedy argued that "without removing the current [ACIP] members, the current Trump administration would not have been able to appoint a majority of new members until 2028." He criticized the previous committee as having "persistent conflicts of interest" and functioning as "little more than a rubber stamp for any vaccine," noting that ACIP "has never recommended against a vaccine—even those later withdrawn for safety reasons."
The committee overhaul follows Kennedy's recent announcement that the CDC would no longer recommend COVID-19 vaccination for healthy children or pregnant women, and comes after the resignation of ACIP co-lead Lakshmi Panagiotakopoulos, who cited her inability to "help the most vulnerable members" of the U.S. population.
