Explainer

What RFK Jr.’s Changes to CDC Panel Mean for Vaccine Policy

Syringes with doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 pediatric vaccine at a Salvation Army vaccination clinic in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., on Friday, Nov. 12, 2021. The Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines for children ages 5 to 11-year-old are a third of the dose that adults receive.Photographer: Hannah Beier/Bloomberg

Provide news feedback or report an error

Confidential tip?

Send a tip to our reporters

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

By Gerry Smith, Rachel Cohrs Zhang, and Damian Garde

June 12, 2025 at 10:08 PM UTC

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of health and human services, appointed eight new members of an expert panel that advises the federal government on immunization policy, including several vocal vaccine critics and one who identifies as an “anti-vaxxer.”

The appointments came days after Kennedy’s dismissal on June 9 of all 17 members of the committee that advises the US government on vaccine safety and policy, saying that removing the entire panel was the only way to restore public confidence in immunizations.