RFK Jr. Fires the CDC Vaccine Experts—and the Anti-Vaxxers Rejoice

Public health leaders reacted to the news with horror.

A black-and-white photo of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in profile, talking into a microphone and pointing with the index finger of his left hand.

Samuel Corum/Getty

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On Monday, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced his decision to “retire” all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the group that issues recommendations on vaccines to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In advance of his confirmation, Kennedy had assured lawmakers that he had no intention of interfering with the work of this panel of experts and would preserve it. Members of the group, who are required to disclose any conflicts of interest, meet regularly to review relevant data regarding vaccines.

Public health leaders reacted to the news with horror. Major medical groups, including the American Medical Association and American Academy of Pediatrics, issued statements condemning Kennedy’s decision. Dr. Tom Frieden, a former CDC director and infectious disease physician, tweeted that the move would “undermine public trust under the guise of improving it.”

Anti-vaccine activists greeted the announcement—which appeared in the Wall Street Journal—with praise and celebration. Dr. Sherri Tenpenny, an osteopathic physician who claimed that Covid vaccines make people magnetic, told her 210,000 followers on X that the firing of the committee members was “long overdue.” Erin Elizabeth, an anti-vaccine activist with 218,000 followers, described the move as “an awesome thing.” Larry Cook, head of the group Stop Mandatory Vaccination, chimed in, telling his 130,000 followers it was “great news!”

Children’s Health Defense, the anti-vaccine group Kennedy helmed before he ran for president in 2024, took to social media to lambast professional groups and lawmakers that criticized Kennedy’s dismantling of the committee, accusing the American Medical Association and American Academy of Pediatrics of being controlled by pharmaceutical companies. “Has common sense escaped these Senators that are outraged by this move?” the group tweeted. “Or are their Big Pharma profits just on the chopping block?”

Although ACIP members are required to disclose any potential conflicts of interest, Kennedy and other anti-vaccine activists have accused them of being in the pocket of pharma. Calley Means, an adviser to Kennedy and founder of a supplement company, posted to his 306,000 followers what he considered to be evidence of this to justify the firings. It is an 80-second YouTube clip from a 2018 ACIP meeting in which the committee voted on whether to recommend a hepatitis B vaccine. Because of the way the video is edited, it appears that the committee unanimously decides in favor of the recommendation, despite the fact that there was no data available on one ingredient’s use in combination with other vaccines. The committee also appears to greenlight the recommendation, apparently ignoring “signals” that suggested the vaccines could cause a heart attack. Means’ post was retweeted more than 1,000 times.

Jeffrey Tucker, a writer who runs the libertarian think tank Brownstone Institute, also posted the YouTube clip to his 250,000 followers. “This video sums up the core of the corporatist state,” he wrote. “Powerful industrial interests linked with entrenched and mostly out-of-sight bureaucracies overseen by shadowy military people operating under a classified cover, blessed as right and good by academic shills.”

But Dr. Paul Offit, an infectious disease pediatrician at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia who served on ACIP from 1998 to 2003, said the clip was misleading. He clarified that all vaccines must be tested before they hit the market to make sure they’re safe to use with other vaccines. He added that “signals” of the vaccine causing heart attacks could mean practically anything—even a handful of mentions in the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, a database in which anyone can make claims of harm without providing evidence. A former CDC official added that it’s standard practice to continue to monitor adverse reactions after a vaccine is recommended.

In recent months, Kennedy has made a slew of other moves around vaccine policy that worry public health experts. He has rewarded vaccine critics with high-level appointments, downplayed the role of immunizations in a measles outbreak, and vowed to interrogate a possible connection between vaccines and autism—despite abundant evidence that none exists.

“None of this should be surprising,” Offit tweeted. “RFK Jr. will do everything he can to make sure that all vaccines are no longer mandated and to make vaccines less available, less affordable, and more feared. This is only the beginning.”

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“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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