Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has shocked the medical establishment. Kennedy has moved by fire every member of the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel. Senate Democrats have slammed this move as dangerous and radical.
Sec. Kennedy decided a clean sweep was necessary to regain public confidence. He stated, "ACIP new members will prioritize public health and evidence-based medicine. The Committee will no longer function as a rubber stamp for industry profit-taking agendas."
Regardless of his reasoning, this move is without precedent and has shocked the medical establishment. Medical organizations, like the American Medical Association, claim that this will undermine trust in the committee.
Senate Democrats have also voiced their objections to this move. First, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D) compared it to a wrecking ball and called it reckless and radical.
Schumer continued, “Wiping out an entire panel of vaccine experts doesn’t build trust—it shatters it, and worse, it sends a chilling message: that ideology matters more than evidence, and politics more than public health.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders (D) wasn’t surprised after decades of RFK questioning vaccines. Sanders thinks this firing will lead to more illness and potentially death.
Sanders concluded, “Firing independent experts is a dangerous move that makes it harder for Americans to access vaccines that are safe, effective & essential to saving lives.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D) expressed similar concerns. She recalls how RFK’s history made his confirmation as Secretary extremely difficult.
Warren continued, “So he promised not to change the vaccine advisory panel. Today, he fired every single expert on that panel. It's a public health disaster.”
Finally, Sen. Raphael Warnock (D) described the firing as a recipe for disaster. He also tied this into the big, beautiful bill that he has criticized for making cuts to Medicaid.
Warnock stated, “This admin is firing all of our nation's top vaccine advisors in order to replace them with their cronies. At the same time, they plan to rip health insurance away from millions.”
