RFK Jr.’s vaccine advisory panel sparks concerns over anti-vaccine bias

A few of the new members Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appointed to the federal vaccine panel have promoted misinformation about vaccines and public health.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s unprecedented shake-up of a key federal vaccine advisory panel ushered in appointees who have expressed skepticism about the value and safety of vaccines — raising concerns about the group’s objectivity.

The eight new members Kennedy appointed to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which makes recommendations to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about who should get certain vaccines, include three people who have testified as expert witnesses against vaccine makers, NBC News found in a review of the members’ professional backgrounds.

One of the new members has published articles questioning the safety of Covid vaccines and received thousands of dollars from a libertarian think tank that opposed pandemic-era restrictions. A few have promoted misinformation about vaccines and public health.

The group’s first meeting, scheduled for June 25-27, is set to include votes on recommendations for Covid, HPV, influenza, meningococcal and RSV vaccines.

Kennedy billed his firing of the entire 17-member panel as a way to restore public trust in vaccines and eliminate conflicts of interest, but three health policy experts said his new slate brings fewer qualifications and more anti-vaccine views compared with the previous one.