Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is a committee within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that provides advice and guidance on effective control of vaccine-preventable diseases in the civilian population of the United States.
History
On December 16, 2021, ACIP issued recommendations based on "a clinical preference for individuals to receive an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine over Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine."[1]
On June 9, 2025, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that he had retired all 17 current ACIP members as part of a broader effort to "restore public trust in vaccines."[2]
Kennedy subsequently appointed eight new members, including Robert Malone, Martin Kuldorff, Cody Meissner, Vicky Pebsworth, Retsef Levi, Michael Ross, Joseph Hibbeln and James Pagano.[3] Ross withdrew from the committee during the financial holdings review process ahead of ACIP's first meeting.[4]
At the first meeting of the newly-constituted ACIP on June 26, 2025, the group voted in favour of recommending the use of influenza vaccines that do not contain thimerosal.[5]
Membership
ACIP's current membership roster is listed on the CDC's website.[6]
| Name | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Joseph Hibbeln | Member | National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), Seafood Nutrition Partnership, Barton Health |
| Martin Kuldorff | Member | Great Barrington Declaration, Harvard University, FDA Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee |
| Retsef Levi | Member | MIT Sloan School of Management |
| Robert Malone | Member | Malone Institute |
| Cody Meissner | Member | Geisel School of Medicine |
| James Pagano | Member | - |
| Vicky Pebsworth | Member | Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC), National Association of Catholic Nurses, National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) |
| Michael Ross | Member (withdrawn)[4:1] | 20/20 GeneSystems, George Washington University, Virginia Commonwealth University, Havencrest Capital Management |
External links
CDC Endorses ACIP’s Updated COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations. (2021, December 17). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://archive.today/2021.12.18-183853/https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2021/s1216-covid-19-vaccines.html ↩︎
Kennedy, R. F. (2025, June 9). RFK Jr.: HHS Moves to Restore Public Trust in Vaccines. Wall Street Journal. http://archive.today/2025.06.10-011735/https://www.wsj.com/opinion/rfk-jr-hhs-moves-to-restore-public-trust-in-vaccines-45495112 ↩︎
Glenza, J. (2025, June 13). Who are the eight new vaccine advisers appointed by Robert F Kennedy? The Guardian. http://archive.today/2025.07.02-194257/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/13/eight-new-cdc-vaccine-advisers-robert-f-kennedy ↩︎
Shah, A., & Abraham, R. R. (2025, June 25). Kennedy’s new vaccine panel loses member ahead of first meeting, HHS says. Reuters. http://archive.today/2025.06.25-063645/https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/kennedys-key-vaccine-panel-down-7-members-ahead-first-meeting-nyt-reports-2025-06-25/ ↩︎ ↩︎
U.S. vaccine panel rejects flu shots with a specific preservative, despite safety data. (2025, June 27). CBC News; Associated Press. http://archive.today/2025.07.02-193233/https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/thimerosal-vaccine-panel-1.7572755 ↩︎
Further reading
The MAHA Report