RFK Jr. rewrites rules on CDC panel after judge blocks vaccine changes

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is rewriting the rules of membership for a key vaccine advisory panel, according to a document published by his department on Monday.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is rewriting the rules of membership for a key vaccine advisory panel, according to a document published by his department on Monday, after a judge last month declared most of his prior selections unqualified and put their decisions on hold.

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The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the use of vaccines, had been a major tool in Kennedy’s efforts to reshape U.S. vaccine policy.

In a March 16 decision, Boston-based U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy concluded that ACIP had been unlawfully reconstituted after Kennedy, a longtime anti-vaccine activist, last year removed and replaced all 17 independent experts who previously served on the panel, adding several members who share his controversial vaccine views.