U.S. health authorities have removed more than half a dozen of the nation’s leading medical organizations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) vaccine advisory workgroups, a move that experts warn could fragment national vaccine guidance and erode public trust.
In an email sent Thursday, federal officials informed these organizations — including the American Medical Association (AMA), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) — that their experts would no longer participate in the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) workgroups, which have long played a key role in shaping vaccine policy in the U.S.
“I’m concerned and distressed,” said Dr. William Schaffner, a longtime vaccine expert from Vanderbilt University who has been closely involved with ACIP for decades. He warned the decision could lead to conflicting vaccine recommendations between government agencies and healthcare providers.
According to one of the emails, the disinvited organizations were labeled as “special interest groups,” with an expectation of “bias” due to their constituencies.
A federal health official confirmed the action on Friday, first reported by Bloomberg.
The decision is the latest development in the ongoing shake-up of the ACIP, which was established in 1964 to advise the CDC on the use of vaccines approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Historically, the CDC has routinely adopted the ACIP’s recommendations, which also influence insurance coverage and clinical practices nationwide.
U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime critic of vaccines before assuming his current role, dismissed the entire ACIP in June, claiming the group was too closely aligned with vaccine manufacturers. He has since installed new members, including several known vaccine skeptics.
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The ACIP workgroups — comprising committee members and independent experts — have traditionally reviewed scientific and manufacturer data, assessed feasibility for clinical implementation, and developed vaccine guidance proposals for the full committee. Schaffner emphasized that members were carefully vetted for conflicts of interest.
Organizations also removed from participation include the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Physicians, the American Geriatrics Society, the American Osteopathic Association, the National Medical Association, and the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases.
In a joint statement issued Friday, the AMA and several of the affected groups condemned the move as “irresponsible, dangerous to our nation’s health, and [something that] will further undermine public and clinician trust in vaccines.” They urged the administration to reverse its decision, warning of the consequences for public health.
Three of the groups disinvited had recently joined a lawsuit challenging Kennedy’s decision to halt COVID-19 vaccine recommendations for most children and pregnant women.
In a social media post Friday, Retsef Levi, one of the Kennedy-appointed ACIP members and a business management professor, claimed the new workgroups would consult with “an even broader set of disciplines.” He added that membership would now be determined by “merit and expertise,” not affiliation with groups holding what he called “conflicts of interest” and a “radical & narrow view of public health.”
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HHS has not yet announced who will replace the dismissed organizations in the ACIP workgroups.