HHS Secretary Kennedy dismissed all 17 ACIP members and replaced them with political selections
On June 9, 2025, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dismissed all 17 sitting members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices via a press release and a simultaneous Wall Street Journal op-ed, characterizing them as conflicted and as last-minute Biden appointees. ACIP is the independent federal advisory body whose vaccine recommendations are adopted by the CDC and followed by pediatricians and public health agencies nationwide. Kennedy announced eight replacement members on June 11, 2025; the replacement panel, described by observers as less credentialed than its predecessor, voted 8-3 at its inaugural September 2025 meeting to delay routine administration of the MMRV childhood vaccine — the first change to the immunization schedule under Kennedy's HHS.