Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is revising the membership rules for a key vaccine advisory panel, according to a document released by his department on Monday. The move comes after a judge last month ruled that most of his previous appointees were unqualified and suspended their decisions.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which provides guidance to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccine use, has been a central instrument in Kennedy’s efforts to reshape U.S. vaccine policy.
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In a March 16 ruling, Boston-based U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy determined that the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices had been unlawfully restructured after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. removed all 17 independent experts who previously served on the panel and replaced them with new members, some of whom share his controversial views on vaccines.
In his decision, Murphy stated that the reconstituted panel violated the Federal Advisory Committee Act and emphasized that its charter required members to have established expertise in vaccine research, usage, and immunization practices.
On Monday, the Department of Health and Human Services, led by Kennedy, issued an updated version of the panel’s charter that expands the range of qualifications for individuals eligible to serve. The committee plays a key role in making recommendations that influence vaccine use in the United States, including the national childhood immunization schedule.
An earlier version of the charter, signed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in December, stated that panel members should have a strong understanding of immunization practices and public health, along with expertise in areas such as clinical use of vaccines, preventive medicine, vaccine research, or vaccine safety and effectiveness.
However, two former members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, who were appointed under previous administrations, noted that the updated charter appears to expand those requirements by including a wider range of expertise, such as fields like biostatistics and toxicology.
In his decision, Murphy said the members Kennedy appointed were “distinctly unqualified,” with only six of the 15 members having any meaningful experience in vaccines.
HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon downplayed the significance of the changes, saying the ACIP charter renewal and publication “are routine statutory requirements and do not signal any broader policy shift.”
The revised charter came after a letter was sent to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on March 25 by attorney Aaron Siri, who represents the Informed Consent Action Network, an organization critical of vaccine safety policies and mandates, recommending changes to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices charter.
According to a press release on the ICAN website promoting the letter, the group called on Kennedy to “clarify committee member criteria” and argued that all 13 of the ACIP members whose qualifications were challenged in Murphy’s decision “do have the requisite experience.”
