This story was originally reported by The 19th.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced June 9 that he had removed every member of an independent panel key to vaccine policy and access in America. After removing the 17 members of the panel, Kennedy announced eight new names, many of whom have been skeptical of vaccines.
The Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP), which works under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was recently made up of people with extensive experience in public health, infectious diseases and immunizations. For more than half a century, the panel of experts has used evidence-based data to help evaluate the safety of vaccines that are administered to people — and their guidance is used by insurance companies to determine coverage.
Kennedy, a vaccine skepticclaimed the move was aimed at addressing conflicts of interest, though the panel had operated under a comprehensive conflict of interest policy. The unprecedented shakeup could change what vaccines are readily available in the future, including whether they are covered by insurance. Without insurance, some vaccines — including those for COVID-19, HPV and measles, mumps and rubella — could cost people hundreds of dollars out-of-pocket.
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It’s not clear if Kennedy will appoint more members. Here’s what to know about his picks:
Dr. Joseph R. Hibeln
Who is he? A nutritional scientist who has worked as a psychiatrist and professor. His experience on nutritional neurosciences includes a stint as acting chief within the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. In 2018, Hibbeln co-authored research that tested whether a person’s fish consumption during the first half of pregnancy is associated with autism.
Vaccine experience: Hibbeln has no professional background in vaccines.
Dr. Martin Kulldorff
Who is he? A biostatistician and epidemiologist who is a former professor of medicine at Harvard University.
Vaccine experience: Kulldorf has served on a vaccine safety subgroup within ACIP and was a member of an FDA drug safety and risk management advisory committee. He is known for researching the development of vaccine safety surveillance and the monitoring of infectious disease outbreaks.
Kulldorf has been highly skeptical of COVID-19 vaccines and related government policies and mandates. In 2024, he said he lost jobs at Harvard and Mass General Brigham because he criticized policies that mandated COVID-19 vaccination.
In late 2020, he co-authored the Great Barrington Declarationwhich proposed reaching herd immunity for COVID-19 through “natural” infection instead of public health restrictions. He co-wrote the declaration with Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, who was critical of COVID-19 restrictions and is now director of the National Institutes of Health. Kulldorf has aligned publicly with Kennedy on changing the process for vaccine trials.
RESEF LEVI
Who is he? A professor of operations management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. According to his university biographyhis research includes examining data models and tools used in health care management. Levi has described his work as using data and analytics to assess and manage risk in health systems.
Vaccine experience: Levi has no professional background in vaccines.
He has challenged the safety of COVID-19 vaccines and its impact on young people. In May, Levi expressed ongoing skepticism of the safety of administering COVID-19 vaccines to pregnant people, despite evidence of its benefits.
Dr. Robert W. Malone
Who is he? A medical doctor and infectious disease researcher who has gained national attention within right-wing media for his criticism of COVID-19 vaccines.
Vaccine experience: After the news of his addition to the panel, Malone shared a biography that asserts years of experience in developing and testing vaccines.
But Malone has spread misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines. He has claimed credit for inventing mRNA vaccines that have been critical to the fast development of COVID-19 vaccines — an assertion that has been challenged — while also questioning their safety. Malone said in April that the second child who died of measles this year had actually died from other complications, a claim that went against public health officials’ statements.
Dr. Cody Meissner
Who is he? A professor of pediatrics at Dartmouth University, Meissner served on the committee between 2008 and 2012. Since 2018, he has served on another committee that advises the Food and Drug Administration on vaccines.
Vaccine experience: Meissner has in the past defended vaccines, writing in a 2022 article for the New England Journal of Medicine that “widespread understanding and acceptance of vaccines will be an integral aspect” of limiting the harm of future pandemics.
He also helped craft vaccine schedules for the American Academy of Pediatrics, and in 2017 was named the Massachusetts recipient of the CDC Childhood Immunization Award.
Recently, Meissner endorsed a move by the CDC to stop recommending COVID-19 vaccines for healthy children and pregnant people. Those changes were criticized by many major medical groups, including the American College for Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine.
In August 2021, he expressed opposition to requiring that children wear a mask to prevent the spread of COVID, arguing that kids suffered negative consequences and that the availability of vaccines for adults undermined the need for children to mask. He has also opposed vaccine mandates and signed onto the Great Barrington Declaration.
Dr. James Pagano
Who is he? An emergency room doctor from Los Angeles
Vaccine experience: Pagano does not appear to have any research or work experience related to vaccines readily available.
Vicky Pebsworth, OP, PhD, RN
Who is she? A California-based regional director of the National Association of Catholic Nurses and board member of the National Vaccine Information Center, an anti-vax organization that many doctors and public health researchers say is a leading source of vaccine misinformation.
Vaccine experience: Pebsworth has argued that vaccines cause chronic illnesses and disabilities in children, a false talking point frequently used by vaccine opponents. She has also done work questioning the safety of the HPV vaccine, which Kennedy also opposes. The uptake of the HPV vaccine has contributed to substantial decreases in cervical cancer.
Dr. Michael A. Ross
Who is he? A Virginia-based OB-GYN and medical technology executive, working currently as interim chief medical officer at a startup trying to use artificial intelligence to deliver medicines. His Linkedin also lists him as a board member for LarreaRx, a supplement company.
Vaccine experience: Ross does not appear to have any research or work experience related to vaccines readily available.
