Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has appointed eight new members to the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices two days after firing all 17 members.
Kennedy named the new members in a post on X on Wednesday.
"On Monday, I took a major step towards restoring public trust in vaccines by reconstituting the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices. I retired the 17 current members of the committee," Kennedy posted. "I'm now repopulating ACIP with the eight new members who will attend ACIP's scheduled June 25 meeting."
WHY THIS MATTERS
Kennedy said, "The slate includes highly credentialed scientists, leading public health experts and some of America's most accomplished physicians. All of these individuals are committed to evidence-based medicine, gold-standard science and common sense."
Kennedy said the new members "have each committed to demanding definitive safety and efficacy data before making any new vaccine recommendations. The committee will review safety and efficacy data for the current schedule as well."
The process for selecting the new members did not follow usual procedure.
American College of Physicians President Dr. Jason Goldman said he was troubled by the speed and lack of transparency in the ACIP Committee selection process.
"The American College of Physicians is greatly concerned with the most recent development regarding the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices composition and the selections made by the Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kennedy," Goldman said. "The usual ACIP committee process requires rigorous vetting, disclosures of interest, and should involve physicians and scientists with extensive background in vaccine research and medicine. The speed with which these members were selected, and the lack of transparency in the process, does not help to restore public confidence and trust, and contributes to confusion and uncertainty."
An HHS spokesperson said that Kennedy "has replaced vaccine groupthink with a diversity of viewpoints" and that ethics agreements would be made public for the new members before they begin work for the ACIP, according to CBS News.
Kennedy had accused former panel members of having a conflict of interest and being a "rubber stamp for any vaccine."
The picks announced by Kennedy, who has been called a vaccine skeptic and critic, include some close allies of the secretary and his inner circle, according to the CBS report. Several have a history of criticizing vaccine recommendations or questioning their safety. Some have ties to lawsuits against vaccine makers. One says he previously invested in a vaccine, the report said.
ACIP's new members and their qualifications, as posted by Kennedy on X are:
- Dr. Joseph R. Hibbeln is a psychiatrist and neuroscientist with a career in clinical research, public health policy and federal service. As former acting chief of the Section on Nutritional Neurosciences at the National Institutes of Health, he led research on immune regulation, neurodevelopment and mental health. His work has informed U.S. public health guidelines, particularly in maternal and child health. With more than 120 peer-reviewed publications and extensive experience in federal advisory roles, Dr. Hibbeln brings expertise in immune-related outcomes, psychiatric conditions and evidence-based public health strategies.
- Dr. Martin Kulldorff is a biostatistician and epidemiologist formerly at Harvard Medical School and a leading expert in vaccine safety and infectious disease surveillance. He has served on the Food and Drug Administration's Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee and the CDC's Vaccine Safety Subgroup of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, where he contributed to national vaccine safety monitoring systems. Dr. Kulldorff developed widely used tools such as SaTScan and TreeScan for detecting disease outbreaks and vaccine adverse events. His expertise includes statistical methods for public health surveillance, immunization safety and infectious disease epidemiology. He has also been an influential voice in public health policy, advocating for evidence-based approaches to pandemic response.
- Retsef Levi, PhD, is professor of operations management at the MIT Sloan School of Management and a leading expert in healthcare analytics, risk management and vaccine safety. He has served as faculty director of MIT Sloan's Food Supply Chain Analytics and Sensing Initiative and co-led the Leaders for Global Operations Program. Levi has collaborated with public health agencies to evaluate vaccine safety, including co-authoring studies on mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and their association with cardiovascular risks. His research has contributed to discussions on vaccine manufacturing processes, safety surveillance and public health policy. Levi has also served on advisory committees and engaged in policy discussions concerning vaccine safety and efficacy. His expertise spans healthcare systems optimization, epidemiologic modeling, and the application of AI and data science in public health. Levi's work continues to inform national and international debates on immunization safety and health system resilience.
- Dr. Robert W. Malone is a physician-scientist and biochemist known for his early contributions to mRNA vaccine technology. He conducted foundational research in the late 1980s on lipid-mediated mRNA delivery, which laid the groundwork for later developments in mRNA-based therapeutics. Dr. Malone has held academic positions at institutions including the University of California, Davis, and the University of Maryland, and has served in advisory roles for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense. His expertise spans molecular biology, immunology and vaccine development.
- Dr. Cody Meissner is a professor of pediatrics at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth and a nationally recognized expert in pediatric infectious diseases and vaccine policy. He has served as section chief of Pediatric Infectious Disease at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and has held advisory roles with both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Dr. Meissner has been a voting member of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and the FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, where he has contributed to national immunization guidelines and regulatory decisions. His expertise spans vaccine development, immunization safety and pediatric infectious disease epidemiology. Dr. Meissner has also been a contributing author to American Academy of Pediatrics policy statements and immunization schedules, helping shape national standards for pediatric care.
- Dr. James Pagano is a board-certified emergency medicine physician with over 40 years of clinical experience following his residency at UCLA. He has worked in diverse emergency settings, from Level 1 trauma centers to small community hospitals, caring for patients across all age groups, including infants, pregnant women and the elderly. Dr. Pagono served on multiple hospital committees, including utilization review, critical care and medical executive boards. He is a strong advocate for evidence-based medicine.
- Vicky Pebsworth, OP, PhD, RN, earned a doctorate in public health and nursing from the University of Michigan. She has worked in the healthcare field for more than 45 years, serving in various capacities, including critical care nurse, healthcare administrator, health policy analyst and research scientist with a focus on public health policy, bioethics and vaccine safety. She is the Pacific Region director of the National Association of Catholic Nurses. She is a former member of the Food and Drug Administration's Vaccine and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee and the National Vaccine Advisory Committee's 2009 H1N1 Vaccine Safety Risk Assessment Working Group and Vaccine Safety Working Group (Epidemiology and Implementation Subcommittees).
- Dr. Michael A. Ross is a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at George Washington University and Virginia Commonwealth University, with a career spanning clinical medicine, research and public health policy. He has served on the CDC's Advisory Committee for the Prevention of Breast and Cervical Cancer, where he contributed to national strategies for cancer prevention and early detection, including those involving HPV immunization. With research experience in hormone therapies, antibiotic trials, and immune-related conditions such as breast cancer prevention, Dr. Ross has engaged in clinical investigations with immunologic relevance. He has advised major professional organizations, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and contributed to federal advocacy efforts around women's health and preventive care. His continued service on biotech and healthcare boards reflects his commitment to advancing innovation in immunology, reproductive medicine and public health.
THE LARGER TREND
ACIP is tasked with being an advisory committee for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccines. The panel makes recommendations that are tied to federal policies, such as which vaccines insurers are required to cover, the CBS report said.
The panel is scheduled to meet June 25.
Email the writer: SMorse@himss.org