After Kicking Out Vaccine Experts, Kennedy Jr. Assembles Skeptic Squad
Kennedy is assembling a group comprised of vaccine skeptics, under Kennedy Jr.'s leadership.
Get ready for some heated discussions! Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the new U.S. Health Minister, has replaced all the vaccine experts from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). His new picks? A bunch of vaccine skeptics!
Kennedy has proudly introduced his fresh panel, which includes at least three individuals with a history of mRNA vaccine criticism, as reported by the "Washington Post."
"These folks are all about evidence-based medicine, top-notch science, and common sense," Kennedy claimed on X. "They've all sworn to demand solid safety and efficacy data before giving any new vaccine recommendations."
Notable new faces among the scientists are Martin Kulldorff, an advocate for herd immunity through mass infections during the Corona pandemic, and Robert Malone, a pioneer in early mRNA technology research who later voiced his criticism of vaccination and made unsubstantiated claims. For example, Malone asserted that individuals who had already battled Covid were at greater risk due to vaccination.
News outlets like NPR question Kennedy's choices, claiming he's assembling a committee skeptical of vaccines and potentially open to an anti-vaccine agenda. Dorit Reiss, a vaccine policy professor at UC Law in San Francisco, expressed her concerns, stating, "Kennedy isn't choosing people with solid, up-to-date knowledge about vaccines."
The Health Minister's Dramatic Shakeup
Kennedy has been challenging vaccine safety and efficacy claims for years. His statements often contradict scientific findings.
When Kennedy dismissed the previous 17 members, he claimed that the committee was riddled with conflicts and had never rejected a vaccine. However, these decisions fall within the jurisdiction of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The committee’s role is to advise the CDC on which population groups would benefit most from already-approved vaccines and when they should receive them.
Kennedy argued that most committee members were funded by pharmaceutical companies. Yet, ACIP members are required to disclose potential and perceived conflicts of interest, as well as other business interests, leadership positions, or connections to organizations.
As of the latest news in June 2025, no official details about the new vaccine experts have been confirmed or publicly shared. The center of the controversy is Kennedy’s own anti-vaccine activism and the administration’s reliance on contested science to drive changes in vaccine policy.
Community policy discussions are set to intensify due to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s replacement of vaccine experts on the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices with vaccine skeptics.
Science and medical-conditions have become integral to the ongoing debates, with Kennedy's new panel advocating for evidence-based medicine and demanding robust safety and efficacy data before making vaccine recommendations.
In the midst of Kennedy's shakeup, concerns about potential politicization of health-and-wellness policies have surfaced, as some news outlets question whether the new committee is open to an anti-vaccine agenda, a claim contested by Kennedy.
