Kennedy names five new members of vaccine advisory panel

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday announced five new members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccine advisory panel, days ahead of its next meeting.

Kennedy fired all the panel's 17 former members earlier this year, accusing them of holding "persistent conflicts of interest" that made it "little more than a rubber stamp for any vaccine." He handpicked eight people to replace them.

The five new members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) include experts who have been critical of the COVID-19 vaccine, and it comes as the panel is set to vote on whether to soften or eliminate recommendations related to the vaccine, The Hill reported.

The five new members are infectious disease epidemiology professor Catherine Stein, pediatric cardiologist Kirk Milhoan, pharmacist Hillary Blackburn, obstetrician and gynecologist Evelyn Griffin and surgeon and transplant immunobiologist Raymond Pollack.

“ACIP safeguards the health of Americans by issuing objective, evidence-based vaccine recommendations,” Kennedy said in a statement. “Its new members bring diverse expertise that strengthens the committee and ensures it fulfills its mission with transparency, independence, and gold-standard science.” 

The panel is expected to meet on Thursday and Friday in Atlanta, Georgia.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.