WASHINGTON, D.C. — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has announced eight appointments for the CDC’s top vaccine advisory panel, following his dismissal of all 17 previous members, citing a need to rebuild public trust in the federal immunization process.
On Monday, I took a major step towards restoring public trust in vaccines by reconstituting the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP). I retired the 17 current members of the committee. I’m now repopulating ACIP with the eight new members who will attend ACIP’s…
— Secretary Kennedy (@SecKennedy) June 11, 2025
RFK Jr. said the new Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) will demand “definitive safety and efficacy data” before issuing any new vaccine recommendations and will re-evaluate existing guidance. The restructured panel is set to convene on June 25.
The appointees include several prominent physicians and scientists, including former Harvard epidemiologist Martin Kulldorff and mRNA researcher Robert Malone, both known for their criticism of COVID-19-era public health policy and the COVID-19 shots.
Kulldorff helped draft the Great Barrington Declaration with Jay Bhattacharya and Sunetra Gupta, which called for focused protection rather than mass lockdowns – a position widely debated among epidemiologists. He also spoke out strongly against vaccine passports and mandates, as well as mask mandates and contact tracing. He was dismissed from Harvard in 2024 because of his refusal to receive the COVID-19 injections.
Malone, who conducted early work on mRNA vaccine delivery systems, was banned from several platforms for posts deemed “misleading” during the COVID crisis. He has given related interviews on The Joe Rogan Experience and elsewhere and was reinstated on X following Elon Musk’s revision of COVID-19 policies.
Retsef Levi, a professor at MIT, has raised concerns about potential cardiovascular risks linked to COVID-19 mRNA shots and has called for stricter safety monitoring. In 2023, a petition circulated opposing his work, though it did not gain traction.
Other appointees include:
- Joseph Hibbeln, an NIH psychiatrist and nutrition researcher focused on immune and neurodevelopmental health.
- Cody Meissner, a pediatric infectious disease expert with previous experience on both FDA and CDC vaccine panels.
- James Pagano, a veteran emergency physician with decades of clinical experience.
- Vicky Pebsworth, a nurse-scientist with prior FDA vaccine advisory roles and Pacific Region Director of the National Association of Catholic Nurses. She is also a Lay Dominican.
- Michael Ross, an OB-GYN and clinical researcher with a background in immunology and women’s health policy.
Kennedy framed the move as part of a broader campaign to remove conflicts of interest and restore credibility to federal vaccine recommendations. Just a few days ago, he accused the panel of having been “little more than a rubber stamp for any vaccine” and pledged that the new members would not have direct ties with the vaccine industry.
The new ACIP, he said, will be focused on what RFK called “gold-standard science” and “common sense.” The June meeting will mark the beginning of its work.
This article was originally published on LifeSIte News.
