CDC Vaccine Advisory Committee Faces Credibility Crisis Under Kennedy Administration

The once-respected Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is meeting today and tomorrow amid unprecedented controversy, as public health experts warn Americans to be skeptical of its recommendations following a complete overhaul of its membership by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

In June, Kennedy fired all 17 previous ACIP members, replacing them with his own appointees. The committee, which historically provided evidence-based vaccine recommendations that influenced insurance coverage nationwide, now faces accusations of being compromised by anti-vaccine ideology.

“This new version of ACIP has been stacked with anti-vaccine activists who either are incurious and have no interest in the science, or are unable to understand the science,” said Peter Hotez, MD, PhD, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, during a webinar organized by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.

Hotez, who helped develop a low-cost COVID-19 vaccine, didn’t mince words about the committee’s current state: “ACIP is purely a platform to promote pseudoscience.”

Today’s meeting will include a critical vote on the hepatitis B vaccine, which has been routinely administered to newborns within 24 hours of birth since 1991. This vaccination protocol has reduced hepatitis infections in children by 99%, effectively preventing a virus that can cause lifelong health problems and liver cancer.

At its September meeting, the committee discussed delaying the first dose—a proposal that alarmed infectious disease experts who warn such a change could leave infants vulnerable to infection during a critical period.

Tomorrow’s agenda includes discussions about the timing and composition of vaccines in the childhood immunization schedule, long a focal point for anti-vaccine groups. Public health officials fear potential changes could undermine decades of progress in controlling preventable diseases.

“The nation is living through a very dark chapter in the history of American biomedical science,” Hotez said. “When you watch the ACIP proceedings, remember that there’s going to be a lot of fact-free information presented. Interpret it accordingly.”

In response to the expected spread of misinformation, several public health organizations have launched “prebunking” efforts. Epidemiologist Katelyn Jetelina, PhD, MPH, is among those providing evidence-based information in advance of the meeting to help people evaluate claims that might emerge.

Former CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, now co-founder of the University of Minnesota’s Vaccine Integrity Project (VIP), explained that prebunking “can help inoculate people against misinformation by providing evidence-based information in advance.”

The VIP recently published a comprehensive review of 400 studies on the hepatitis B vaccine, concluding there is no scientific justification for delaying the first dose. The project aims to “empower people with the proper information, complete information, and also the uncertainties of that information,” according to Walensky.

The Trump administration has consistently questioned vaccine safety since taking office. The CDC website has had evidence-based information about vaccines and autism removed, signaling a significant policy shift in public health messaging.

Former CDC Director Susan Monarez testified before a Senate committee that Kennedy had claimed CDC officials “are killing children and they don’t care,” statements that Walensky characterized as having “an intent to confuse and undermine” public trust in vaccine safety.

“There’s a lot of gaslighting going on by the heads of the agencies right now,” Hotez added, pushing back against Kennedy’s claims of restoring “gold standard science” to federal health agencies.

“Those agencies have always practiced gold standard science. In fact, they’ve been international role models for practicing gold standard science,” Hotez said. “What they’re really saying is they now want to promote a pseudoscience agenda.”

The CDC’s recommendations on childhood vaccines have historically been crucial for maintaining high vaccination rates that prevent disease outbreaks. Public health experts worry that politically motivated changes to these recommendations could reverse decades of progress in disease prevention.

HHS representatives did not respond to requests for comment by press time.