All U.S. CDC vaccine panel experts removed

U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday fired all 17 members of the advisory committee on immunization to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), saying that the move would restore the public's trust in vaccines.

About two-thirds of the panel had been appointed in the last year of the Joe Biden administration, Kennedy pointed out in announcing his decision in an opinion column for The Wall Street Journal.

"The CDC's vaccine advisers wield enormous influence," reported The New York Times about the move. They carefully review data on vaccines, debate the evidence and vote on who should get the shots and when. Insurance companies and government programs like Medicaid are required to cover the vaccines recommended by the panel.

The committee was supposed to meet on June 25 to 27. It's unclear when the new members will be announced, but the meeting will proceed as planned, according to a statement posted by the Department of Health and Human Services.

"This is the latest in a series of moves that Mr. Kennedy, a vaccine skeptic, has made to dismantle decades of policy standards for immunizations," noted the report. An advisory panel more closely aligned with Kennedy's views has the potential to significantly alter or even drop the recommendations for immunizations to Americans, including childhood vaccinations.