On June 9, 2025, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. removed the 17 sitting members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) as well as the executive secretary. Two days later, he appointed seven new members, and despite calls to postpone the scheduled meeting at the end of June, the meeting occurred. A flurry of media coverage followed each of these events.
In response to their firing, the 17 former members authored a piece in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) to highlight the significance of these events. This piece provided critical background on the role of the committee and how committee makeup has historically translated to impact. The ACIP, codified in federal regulations, has been providing sound recommendations to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for more than 60 years. Their recommendations most often translate into guidance and national standards for how to use vaccines that have been authorized and licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Per the process until June 2025, recommendations were science-based and optimized for well-timed protection. The committee made these recommendations recognizing that recommendations influenced insurance coverage and helped safeguard access to vaccines. Even after making recommendations, the ACIP continued to monitor vaccines and the diseases they prevent to provide timely updates to recommendations.
The article highlighted that to carry out these responsibilities, members had been selected through a rigorous process based on wide-ranging areas of expertise. Many members have dedicated their entire careers to immunization-related work, resulting in an expertise that translated to a deep trust of ACIP, as demonstrated by NIS data showing that 99 out of every 100 children in the U.S. have received at least some recommended vaccines by 2 years of age.
The abrupt dismissal of the entire committee and the executive secretary eliminated institutional knowledge and continuity that had previously ensured the success of ACIP. The committee charter specifies that committee members serve overlapping terms to prevent disruptions.
The members concluded that historic achievements of U.S. immunization policy are at stake. People may have more limited access to life-saving vaccines, and more individuals and families throughout the U.S. might remain at risk of preventable infections. While they will no longer be serving on ACIP, the prior members indicated that they would remain committed to evidence-based vaccine policy.
On June 9, 2025, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. removed the 17 sitting members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) as well as the executive secretary. Two days later, he appointed seven new members, and despite calls to postpone the scheduled meeting at the end of June, the meeting occurred. A flurry of media coverage followed each of these events.
In response to their firing, the 17 former members authored a piece in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) to highlight the significance of these events. This piece provided critical background on the role of the committee and how committee makeup has historically translated to impact. The ACIP, codified in federal regulations, has been providing sound recommendations to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for more than 60 years. Their recommendations most often translate into guidance and national standards for how to use vaccines that have been authorized and licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Per the process until June 2025, recommendations were science-based and optimized for well-timed protection. The committee made these recommendations recognizing that recommendations influenced insurance coverage and helped safeguard access to vaccines. Even after making recommendations, the ACIP continued to monitor vaccines and the diseases they prevent to provide timely updates to recommendations.
The article highlighted that to carry out these responsibilities, members had been selected through a rigorous process based on wide-ranging areas of expertise. Many members have dedicated their entire careers to immunization-related work, resulting in an expertise that translated to a deep trust of ACIP, as demonstrated by NIS data showing that 99 out of every 100 children in the U.S. have received at least some recommended vaccines by 2 years of age.
The abrupt dismissal of the entire committee and the executive secretary eliminated institutional knowledge and continuity that had previously ensured the success of ACIP. The committee charter specifies that committee members serve overlapping terms to prevent disruptions.
The members concluded that historic achievements of U.S. immunization policy are at stake. People may have more limited access to life-saving vaccines, and more individuals and families throughout the U.S. might remain at risk of preventable infections. While they will no longer be serving on ACIP, the prior members indicated that they would remain committed to evidence-based vaccine policy.