From CNBC: 2025-06-12 11:39:00

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. named eight new members to the government’s vaccine advisory panel after firing the entire group. The new members include vaccine critics like Dr. Robert Malone and will join the ACIP to advise the CDC on vaccine data and recommendations. The CDC director must approve their recommendations for them to become official policy.

Kennedy’s picks include highly credentialed scientists and leading public health experts committed to evidence-based medicine. Dr. Malone, known for his anti-vaccine views, suggested that recent child deaths from measles were due to medical errors. Dr. Paul Offit criticized some new members as “anti-vaccine activists” and expects ACIP recommendations to be less informed.

Among Kennedy’s picks are Dr. Malone, Dr. Hibbeln, Dr. Kulldorff, Retsef Levi, Dr. Meissner, Dr. Pagano, Dr. Ross, and Vicky Pebsworth. Pebsworth is a nurse on the board of a group criticized for spreading misinformation about vaccines. Levi, a professor at MIT, has criticized mRNA vaccines and called for them to be stopped immediately.

Dr. Meissner, a pediatrician at Dartmouth, has been praised as the most qualified pick by Offit. He has emphasized the safety and effectiveness of measles vaccines and urged parents to ensure their children are vaccinated. Kennedy has downplayed measles outbreaks and made unfounded claims about vaccines containing fetal cells.



Read more at CNBC: RFK Jr. names members of CDC vaccine committee after firings