Health Secretary Kennedy dismisses all 17 members of vaccine panel

US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has dismissed all 17 members of the country’s vaccine advisory committee, raising fresh debate over the future of immunisation policy in the United States.

In an editorial published in the Wall Street Journal, Kennedy announced he had removed the entire Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (Acip), accusing it of long-standing conflicts of interest that he said had damaged public trust in vaccines. He said the decision was aimed at ensuring Americans “receive the safest vaccines possible.”

“Most of ACIP's members have received substantial funding from pharmaceutical companies, including those marketing vaccines,” Kennedy wrote.

“The committee has been plagued with persistent conflicts of interest and has become little more than a rubber stamp for any vaccine.”

The move has drawn criticism from health professionals and contradicts assurances Kennedy gave during his Senate confirmation hearing, where he said he would not interfere with the committee. At the time, he said he was “not going to take them away.”

On Monday, Kennedy said he was “retiring” all Acip panel members. Eight of the 17 had been appointed in January 2025, during the final days of President Biden’s administration. Most of the committee members are practising doctors and experts affiliated with leading university medical centres.

Kennedy argued that leaving the panel unchanged would delay any new appointments until at least 2028, as President Trump would not be able to install a majority before then. “If I didn’t do this, Trump couldn’t appoint a majority until 2028,” he wrote.

He also claimed that public trust in health authorities and vaccine companies had been eroded not by misinformation, but by a system tied to industry interests.

“The problem isn't necessarily that ACIP members are corrupt,” Kennedy wrote. “Most likely aim to serve the public interest as they understand it. The problem is their immersion in a system of industry-aligned incentives and paradigms that enforce a narrow pro-industry orthodoxy.”

Senator Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana and a medical doctor, said Kennedy had promised not to make changes to the panel.

“Of course, now the fear is that the Acip will be filled up with people who know nothing about vaccines except suspicion,” Cassidy wrote on X. “I've just spoken with Secretary Kennedy, and I'll continue to talk with him to ensure this is not the case.”

Acip members are required to disclose any potential conflicts and must recuse themselves from votes where conflicts exist. However, Kennedy claimed such safeguards were not enough to address deeper systemic problems.

Dr Bruce Scott, president of the American Medical Association, criticised the dismissals.

“Mass sacking upends a transparent process that has saved countless lives,” he said.

“With an ongoing measles outbreak and routine child vaccination rates declining, this move will further fuel the spread of vaccine-preventable illnesses.”

Kennedy has not named any replacements for the dismissed members. The Acip is scheduled to meet on 25 June to vote on updated vaccine recommendations for Covid-19, flu, RSV, meningococcal disease, and other conditions.

The US Department of Health and Human Services and Acip chair Dr Helen Keipp Talbot have not commented on the decision.