CDC vaccine advisers who were removed from committee by RFK Jr. speak out [View all]
Source: ABC News
June 16, 2025, 5:15 PM
The 17 members of a federal vaccine advisory committee, who were ousted last week, argued their abrupt dismissal has "left the U.S. vaccine program critically weakened."
The group, speaking collectively for the first time since Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dismissed them, said his actions "have stripped the program of the institutional knowledge and continuity that have been essential to its success over decades" in an editorial published Monday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
In an unprecedented move last week, Kennedy dismissed each of the 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, noting in an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal that "a clean sweep is needed to re-establish public confidence in vaccine science."
Kennedy claimed the panel was plagued by conflicts of interest and was a "rubber stamp" for all vaccines. Two days later, he appointed eight new members -- some with previous ties to Kennedy. A few have previously espoused vaccine skeptical viewpoints, sharing ideas in line with the Kennedy's prior comments.
Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/Health/cdc-vaccine-advisers-removed-committee-rfk-jr-speak/story?id=122900198
Link to JAMA EDITORIAL - Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices at a Crossroads
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