Robert F. Kennedy’s Appointment Of Anti-Vax Members To CDC’s Vaccine Advisory Committee Alarms Experts

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appointed eight new members to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with some of the appointees having a history of anti-vaccine sentiments.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) makes recommendations on the safety and efficacy of various vaccines.

Kennedy’s appointments come just two days after he removed all 17 members of the ACIP, which he described on social media as “a major step toward restoring public trust in vaccines.”

In a separate post on Wednesday, Kennedy said the new members of the ACIP include “highly credentialed scientists, leading public-health experts, and some of America’s most accomplished physicians. All of these individuals are committed to evidence-based medicine, gold-standard science, and common sense.”

Some of the new members have previously expressed public opposition to various vaccines, particularly the COVID-19 vaccine and mRNA technology.

One of the appointees, Dr. Robert Malone, claimed people were “hypnotized” into believing mainstream ideas about COVID-19 while appearing on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast.

Dr. Martin Kulldorf, another appointee, co-authored the Great Barrington Declaration, a publication that advocated for ending lockdown orders early and allowing COVID-19 to spread among young, healthy individuals in an effort to expedite herd immunity.

The declaration was criticized by the director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who claimed it was “unethical.” Dr. Anthony Fauci, former Director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, also condemned the publication at the time.

The ACIP is scheduled to hold an upcoming meeting from June 25 to June 27, which will discuss new recommendations for flu, COVID-19, HPV, RSV, and meningococcal bacteria vaccines.

Kennedy has not said whether or not he intends to appoint any more members to the committee.