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Kennedy appoints some vaccine critics to ACIP panel

4 1
12.06.2025
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The Big Story

Vaccine critics among new ACIP members

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced his picks to replace the members of the vaccine advisory panel he fired this week, with several vaccine and COVID-19 skeptics making the cut.

© AP

To replace the 17 members he unceremoniously fired on Monday, Kennedy announced eight new members, representing a significant downsizing of the panel that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccine guidance.

Kennedy in a post on social platform X said the new members will meet as scheduled on June 25 to discuss the COVID-19 vaccine. They will review safety and efficacy data for the current schedule as well, he 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," he added.

The newly announced members are: Joseph R. Hibbeln, Martin Kulldorff, Retsef Levi, Robert W. Malone, Cody Meissner, James Pagano, Vicky Pebsworth and Michael A. Ross.

Kennedy on Tuesday said none of the new ACIP members will be "ideological anti-vaxxers" but some of the new members are well-known COVID-19 contrarians and are known for spreading vaccine misinformation.

Malone, who claims to be the inventor of mRNA vaccines despite what those who've worked with him say, became a fixture of conservative media during the pandemic. He promoted the use of hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin for treating the coronavirus, and repeatedly claimed the COVID shots did not work.

Kulldorff was one the leading authors of the Great Barrington Declaration, which pushed the argument of "herd immunity," along with Meissner and current NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya.

 

Welcome to The Hill’s Health Care newsletter, we’re Nathaniel Weixel, Joseph Choi and Alejandra O'Connell-Domenech — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health.

 

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