HHS’ termination of all 17 members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has prompted concern from several healthcare organizations.
Medical associations and other industry groups argue the move will undermine vaccine confidence and threaten public health, particularly amid a resurgence in preventable diseases such as measles.
HHS is currently evaluating new candidates to replace the committee members — a move Secretary Robert F. Kennedy said will help restore public trust in vaccine science and ensure members are free of conflicts of interests with drug companies, according to a June 9 op-ed in The Wall Street Journal.
How three healthcare industry groups responded to the federal action, via statements:
1. Jason Prevelige, DMSc, president and board chair of the American Academy of Physician Associates, said the move was “deeply damaging” to the public’s confidence in vaccines and healthcare providers.
“For the health and well-being of communities everywhere, it is imperative that the administration acts promptly to reconstruct the committee through an open and transparent process that includes diverse provider voices, including PAs,” he said in a June 10 statement. “AAPA urges the administration to protect the long-established stability in vaccine recommendations in order to protect the public against vaccine-preventable diseases.”
2. American Medical Association President Bruce Scott, MD, defended ACIP as a trusted source for science- and data-driven vaccine guidance.
“Today’s action to remove the 17 sitting members of ACIP undermines that trust and upends a transparent process that has saved countless lives,” he said June 9. With an ongoing measles outbreak and routine child vaccination rates declining, this move will further fuel the spread of vaccine-preventable illnesses.”
3. The American Nurses Association expressed concern about ACIP’s restructuring, saying the sweeping action could hurt public trust in vaccine science. The group also advocated for nurses to be represented among the newly selected committee members.
“ANA urges HHS to ensure the nursing perspective is meaningfully represented as new ACIP members are selected,” the association said June 10. “Nurses play a vital role in immunization efforts: they educate patients, advocate for accessible vaccination practices, and uphold immunization recommendations. Nurses are often the first line of defense against vaccine-preventable diseases and bring essential, evidence-based insight to any conversation on public health.”
4. Infectious Diseases Society of America President Tina Tan, MD, condemned ACIP’s overhaul and said Mr. Kennedy’s allegations about the group’s integrity are “completely unfounded.”
“Scientific recommendations about infectious diseases and vaccines that the public can trust require established experts to make them,” she said in a June 9 statement. “ACIP is a highly qualified group of experts that has always operated with transparency and a commitment to protecting the public’s health. Unilaterally removing an entire panel of experts is reckless, shortsighted and severely harmful.”
5. The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America also defended ACIP’s integrity and existing policies to protect against potential conflicts of interest.
“ACIP appreciates HHS’s focus on restoring public trust in vaccines and applaud any and all efforts to increase vaccine uptake in the United States to protect public health. However, we do not believe recent Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices members were conflicted,” the group said in a June 10 statement to Becker’s. “We are deeply concerned that efforts to restructure or replace ACIP risk undermining a trusted, science-driven process that has long guided national immunization policy. We urge HHS to prioritize transparency, scientific rigor, and public health expertise as it considers these changes — and we remain committed to defending a strong, evidence-based immunization framework in the United States.
Editor’s note: This article was updated June 11 at 3:30 p.m. CT.
