ST. PAUL, Minn. — On Monday, June 9, United States Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. fired all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), housed within the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
ACIP reviews data, debates evidence, and advises the CDC on what vaccines and immunizations are recommended, for whom, and when. Insurance companies and government programs are required to cover vaccines recommended by the committee.
During his confirmation hearing, Secretary Kennedy made a commitment to US Senators that he would not alter the advisory committee. In an opinion piece published in the Wall Street Journal on Monday, Kennedy walked back that promise, saying, “A clean sweep is needed to re-establish public confidence in vaccine science.”
Following that announcement, on Wednesday, Secretary Kennedy named 8 replacements to the panel, many of whom have spread misinformation and fearmongered about vaccines – jeopardizing peoples’ health and undermining confidence in scientists and experts.
ACIP is expected to have their next meeting later in June, as it had been previously planned before the removal of the 17 original members. The new members will be taking votes that directly affect Minnesota’s access to life-saving immunizations.
This week, the American Medical Association called for an investigation into Secretary Kennedy’s actions regarding ACIP, and urged an immediate reversal of these firings.
In response to these developments, registered nurse and Minnesota state Senator Liz Boldon (DFL-Rochester), released the following statement:
“The complete replacement of all of the members of ACIP will have incredibly harmful effects on public health. Secretary Kennedy’s decision to replace experts with known conspiracy theorists will be even more disastrous. Not only is it likely that they will use their power to reject decades of scientific research because of their political motivations, but Americans will likely be forced to pay more for their health care, as a result of insurance companies and government programs not covering these essential immunizations. These actions are dangerous and will harm public health.
“The Trump administration and Secretary Kennedy have done irreparable harm to public health already – whether it’s defunding critical research on cancer and other diseases, creating chaos in Minnesota by orchestrating mass layoffs and rescinding funding for public health initiatives, or mishandling the ongoing epidemics of measles and avian influenza. As we continue to deal with COVID-19, which has killed over a million Americans to date, we need to be strengthening our public health infrastructure, and creating a system that puts patients over profits – not elevating conspiracy theorists, letting insurance companies off the hook, and worsening our health outcomes.”
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