On Jun. 9, 2025, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has fired all 17 members of a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention panel of vaccine experts and is in the process of replacing them, his department said, drawing protest from many vaccine scientists.

The move is the most far-reaching in a series of actions by Kennedy, a long-time vaccine skeptic, to reshape U.S. regulation of vaccines, food and medicine. Scientists and experts said the changes to the vaccine panel, which recommends how vaccines are used and by whom, would undermine public confidence in health agencies.

Kennedy said the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is rife with conflicts and has never turned down a vaccine, even though the decision to approve vaccines rests with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The CDC panel provides guidance to the CDC on which groups of people would most benefit from an already-approved vaccine.

Kennedy and HHS provided no specific evidence of industry conflicts of interest among departing ACIP members. The CDC’s web page for conflicts of interest, last updated in March, showed that one current member had recused herself from votes on a handful of vaccines because she had worked on clinical trials for their manufacturers.

Kennedy has drawn condemnation from health officials for his vaccine policies including what they say is a weak endorsement of the measles shots during an outbreak that has infected more than 1,000 mostly unvaccinated people and killed three. He announced last month the government was dropping its recommendation that healthy children and pregnant women should receive COVID shots, sidestepping the typical process.

Traditionally, once the FDA approves vaccines for sale to the public, ACIP’s role is to review data in a public meeting and vote on vaccine recommendations, which are then sent to the CDC director to sign off.

The Affordable Care Act generally requires insurers to cover vaccines that are listed on the CDC vaccine schedules for adults and children. The recommendations also determine which vaccines the CDC’s Vaccines for Children program will provide free of charge to those without insurance.