The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has added five new members to its voting panel, the latest step in a sweeping reshuffle of U.S. vaccine policy.

The shake-up began in June, when Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. retired all 17 ACIP members and installed fresh voices. For decades, the panel had been criticised for being dominated by government and industry-aligned academics.

Now, under Kennedy, ACIP looks markedly different.

“Its new members bring diverse expertise that strengthens the committee and ensures it fulfills its mission with transparency, independence, and gold-standard science,” Kennedy said in announcing the appointments.

Acting CDC Director Jim O’Neill praised the additions as “a wealth of real-world public health experience,” adding they were essential to restoring public confidence “lost during the Biden era.”

O’Neill took over as acting director after Kennedy fired former CDC chief Susan Monarez after a dispute. Monarez is scheduled to appear before Congress later this week.

The new faces on ACIP

The appointees are not cut from the same cloth as their predecessors – some have opposed vaccine mandates and questioned the safety of Covid-19 mRNA vaccines.

Catherine M. Stein, PhD, an epidemiologist at Case Western Reserve with more than two decades of research in infectious disease genetics and biostatistics.

Evelyn Griffin, MD, an OB-GYN in Baton Rouge, board-certified in functional and lifestyle medicine, with over 20 years of clinical practice and an early adopter of robotic-assisted gynaecologic surgery.

Hillary Blackburn, PharmD, a pharmacy leader focused on initiatives to optimise medication access for underserved populations and improve affordability in value-based care.

Kirk Milhoan, MD, PhD, a paediatric cardiologist, Air Force veteran, and co-founder of a free medical clinic in Hawaii and a mission organisation for children with congenital heart disease. He is also a senior fellow at the Independent Medical Alliance.

Raymond Pollak, MD, a transplant surgeon with more than 120 publications and former leader of liver and multiorgan transplant programs, who previously blew the whistle on the University of Illinois Hospital, claiming it enrolled patients for liver transplants that were not medically necessary.

The weight of ACIP

ACIP does not license vaccines—that is the FDA’s role—nor does it decide mandates, which are set by states.

But its recommendations to the CDC Director carry enormous weight, shaping paediatric practice, insurance coverage, and school entry requirements. In theory, the CDC Director could overrule ACIP, but in practice that has almost never happened.

That is why Kennedy’s reconstitution of the panel, and the appointment of five new members, marks such a pivotal moment—ACIP has the potential to reshape the way vaccines are evaluated and recommended in the U.S.

At its meeting this week, the panel will vote on recommendations for a measles, mumps, rubella and varicella (MMRV) combination vaccine, the hepatitis B vaccine, and this year’s updated Covid-19 shots.

Give a gift subscription

Get 10% off a group subscription

 

IPAK-EDU is grateful to Maryanne Demasi, reports as this piece was originally published there and is included in this news feed with mutual agreement. Read More