Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has amended the charter of a federal vaccine advisory panel, ostensibly to give himself greater control over member selection and loosen membership requirements.
The changes follow a court ruling that Kennedy’s previously appointed advisors lacked expertise in relevant fields, violating federal regulations requiring “fairly balanced” representation.
A federal judge temporarily blocked these choices last month after Kennedy removed 17 experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). The judge ruled that without qualified individuals, the committee could not represent diverse viewpoints within the scientific community effectively.
The updated charter may serve as Kennedy's strategy to restore his vision for ACIP, which he largely filled with allies sharing his anti-vaccine views. This move comes amid controversy over policy changes that included dropping recommendations for COVID-19 vaccines and a Hepatitis B birth dose, widely criticized by medical organizations.
