Four months into his tenure as the secretary of health and human services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has approached vaccine policy in a predictably dangerous way. The longtime anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist has not only narrowed vaccine eligibility standards and changed official recommendations, Kennedy and his team have also halted potentially lifesaving vaccine research.
It was against this backdrop that the unqualified Cabinet secretary made matters worse this week, ousting the members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s independent vaccine advisory committee. As NBC News reported, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) “consists of medical and public health experts — including pediatricians, epidemiologists and geriatricians — who make recommendations to the CDC about who should get certain vaccines, including the schedule for childhood vaccinations.”
After Kennedy removed the qualified experts — reportedly for political reasons — Dr. Sean O’Leary, an infectious disease expert with the American Academy of Pediatrics, told The New York Times that the move should be seen as “an unmitigated public health disaster.”
Soon after, the health secretary tried to reassure the public that he’d replace the respected scientists with “highly credentialed” successors. You can probably guess what happened next.
The New York Times reported that Kennedy announced several new additions to the ACIP panel, “including four who have spoken out against vaccination in some way.” From the article:
By far the most contentious pick, and the one with the highest profile, is Dr. Robert Malone. He played an early role in mRNA research and has claimed to be the inventor of the technology. He became a right-wing star after a 2021 appearance on “The Joe Rogan Experience” that exposed both him and Mr. Rogan to criticism that they had spread misinformation. Dr. Malone was a vocal critic of the Biden administration’s Covid response. The Times quoted one infectious disease expert who noted that Malone “has a well-documented history of promoting conspiracy theories and unproven treatment like ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine for Covid-19.” The Wall Street Journal noted that Kennedy also tapped Vicky Pebsworth, a nurse with a Ph.D. in public health, “who is a board member of the National Vaccine Information Center, an organization that advocates against vaccines.” The same new list also included Dr. Retsef Levi, who wrote via social media in 2023, “The evidence is mounting and indisputable that mRNA vaccines cause serious harm including death, especially among young people.” Kennedy removed 17 members of the ACIP panel on Monday, and he’s now announced eight replacements. As for the other nine, watch this space.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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