On Monday, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a major restructuring of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). The announcement was made via his official X (formerly Twitter) account.

Kennedy stated that he had retired the 17 current members of the committee and is repopulating ACIP with eight new members who will attend the committee’s next meeting on June 25. According to Kennedy, the newly appointed members are highly credentialed scientists, public health experts, and leading physicians who are committed to evidence-based medicine, gold-standard science, and common sense.

He emphasized that the new members have pledged to demand definitive safety and efficacy data before making any new vaccine recommendations. The committee will also review safety and efficacy data for the current vaccine schedule.

The announced members are:

• Joseph R. Hibbeln, MD – Psychiatrist and neuroscientist with experience in clinical research and federal public health policy.
• Martin Kulldorff, MD, PhD – Biostatistician and epidemiologist, formerly at Harvard Medical School, known for his work in vaccine safety and disease surveillance.
• Retsef Levi, PhD – Professor at MIT Sloan School of Management with expertise in healthcare analytics and vaccine safety research.
• Robert W. Malone, MD – Physician-scientist known for early work on mRNA vaccine technology.
• Cody Meissner, MD – Pediatric infectious disease expert and former member of ACIP and FDA advisory committees.
• James Pagano, MD – Emergency medicine physician with over 40 years of clinical experience.
• Vicky Pebsworth, PhD, RN – Public health expert with experience in nursing, healthcare policy, and vaccine advisory roles.
• Michael A. Ross, MD – Clinical professor in obstetrics and gynecology with public health and immunization research experience.

Kennedy framed the move as a step toward restoring public trust in vaccines.