Seventeen vaccine experts dismissed last month from a federal advisory panel are sounding the alarm about what they say is a deeply politicized shift in U.S. vaccine policy under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr..
In a commentary published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, the former members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) condemned the panel’s new direction, saying it is “abandoning rigorous scientific review and open deliberation.” Kennedy replaced the entire committee in June, including several vaccine skeptics among his handpicked members.
They cited the June meeting as evidence, where a known anti-vaccine advocate raised concerns over thimerosal, a flu vaccine preservative, despite studies showing no harm. The panel voted to recommend removing it anyway.
Former ACIP members proposed alternate pathways to preserve vaccine policy credibility, including independent bodies or collaborations by professional organizations. But they acknowledged challenges, such as access to reliable data and uncertain insurance coverage for non-ACIP-approved vaccines.
HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon defended the overhaul, stating Kennedy aims to rebuild public trust by introducing “a diversity of perspectives” and ending what he called “vaccine groupthink.”
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