After court loss, RFK Jr. gives himself more power over CDC vaccine panel

ACIP members are supposed to be chosen from authorities knowledgeable in immunization, public health, vaccine use in clinical practice or preventive medicine, clinical or lab vaccine research, or vaccine efficacy and safety assessment.

A renewal notice omitted the ACIP core expertise language and instead discussed geographic balance and balance of specialty areas.

The renewal listed specialty areas including biostatistics, toxicology, immunology, epidemiology, pediatrics, internal medicine, family medicine, nursing, consumer issues, state and local health department perspective, academic perspective, and public health perspective.

A draft charter would let the Secretary deem which expertise is relevant and would require at least two members with direct, substantial experience advocating for or treating those injured by vaccines.

An anti‑vaccine group near Kennedy, ICAN, is led by Del Bigtree; Aaron Siri, who worked on Kennedy’s failed presidential campaign, has filed lawsuits over alleged vaccine injuries and petitioned the FDA to revoke the polio vaccine. HHS said the renewal is routine and did not signal a change.