RFK Jr. Handpicks Vaccine Skeptics for CDC Panel
Seven nominees with scant track records in vaccinology are poised to reshape U.S. shot policy.
The Washington Post/Tom Brenner for The Washington Post via Getty Images
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is planning to install seven new advisers to the country’s leading vaccine panel, including several who have been skeptical of their use.
The vaccine skeptic department chief is seeking to replace purged committee members on the U.S. body that decides who should get which vaccines and when.
Ahead of a high-stakes meeting on Sept. 18, during which the panel may vote to remove some childhood shots from the schedule, The New York Times and Dr. Jeremy Faust’s “Inside Medicine” Substack have revealed the candidates.
U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—seen here joining Governor Greg Abbott as he signs Make Texas Healthy Again legislation at the Capitol in Austin, Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025—continues to align with anti-vaxxers.
The Austin American-Statesman/He/Mikala Compton/The Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images
They include an emergency physician, a pediatric neurologist, a pediatric cardiologist, a transplant surgeon, an epidemiologist, an OB-GYN, and a pharmacist.
Kennedy fired all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) in June, accusing them of unexplained “conflicts of interest,” and has so far only installed eight replacements.
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At least three of the replacements, the Times noted, have been “critical of vaccines and mandates.” They are:
- Dr. Catherine Stein, an epidemiologist and TB researcher at Case Western Reserve University, who argued in 2022 that campus vaccine mandates were “unethical.” Stein has said she expects to be appointed;
- Dr. Kirk Milhoan, a cardiologist affiliated with the Independent Medical Alliance, a group that has pushed false claims that COVID shots fueled rising infant mortality and a “600 percent” jump in heart problems among young men. Robert Malone—an mRNA vaccine antagonist and current ACIP member—advises the alliance; and
- Dr. John Gaitanis, a pediatric neurologist who has spent years serving as an expert witness in the federal vaccine court for families alleging vaccine injury.
HHS would not confirm the panel’s status, telling reporters to wait for formal announcements. The Daily Beast has approached the department for comment.
The overhaul comes after Kennedy purged the 17 ACIP members, triggering an exodus of leaders at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and warnings that politicized meddling would “result in death and disability of vulnerable children and adults.”
CDC officials Dan Jernigan, Deb Houry, and Demetre Daskalakis walked out over RFK's "anti-science" vaccine approach.
Elijah Nouvelage/Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images
The revamped ACIP group has already moved to favor thimerosal-free flu shots, a preservative anti-vaxxers have falsely tied to autism.
Reuters, which has also seen the proposed list of advisers, stated that the reconstituted ACIP could vote on hepatitis B, MMR-varicella, and RSV at its Sept. 18–19 meeting.
The 2-day summit could update the Vaccines for Children schedule, which the CDC director historically signs off on.
Jim O’Neill has been named as her acting CDC director after Susan Monarez was fired.
Insurers and Medicaid generally mirror its recommendations, putting billions in coverage on the line when the panel votes.
The ACIP selection comes as pressure continues to mount on the nation’s vaccine policy.
On Aug. 25, a close Kennedy ally revealed to the Daily Beast that the administration aims to pull COVID shots “within months.”
Days later, following the mass CDC departures, Trump hinted that it could be on the table.
Senate HELP Chair Bill Cassidy has urged HHS—without joy—to postpone the September ACIP meeting amid the turmoil.
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