BREAKING: Kennedy Dumps Big Pharma-Aligned CDC Advisors, Vows to Earn Back Public Trust in Science

On Monday, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), declared war on the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP), members of which help the CDC decide who should be given specific vaccines.

Kennedy announced he is retiring all 17 members of the ACIP, some of them last minute appointees of President Biden.

“The public must know that unbiased science guides the recommendations from our health agencies,” Kennedy wrote in an op-ed published in The Wall Street Journal. “This will ensure the American people receive the safest vaccines possible.”

Kennedy cited conflicts of interest related to corporate capture of public health agencies as a primary rationale for removing members of the ACIP, who are the CDC’s independent advisors.

He continued, “Most of ACIP’s members have received substantial funding from pharmaceutical companies, including those marketing vaccines. The problem isn’t necessarily that ACIP members are corrupt. Most likely aim to serve the public interest as they understand it. The problem is their immersion in a system of industry-aligned incentives and paradigms that enforce a narrow pro-industry orthodoxy. The new members won’t directly work for the vaccine industry. They will exercise independent judgment, refuse to serve as a rubber stamp, and foster a culture of critical inquiry—unafraid to ask hard questions.”

The HHS Secretary assured readers that this issue transcends arguments over being pro or anti-vaccine. Instead, Kennedy wrote, “The public must know that unbiased science guides the recommendations from our health agencies. This will ensure the American people receive the safest vaccines possible.

Some in the legacy press were not pleased.

NBC curtly titled its coverage of Kennedy’s move, “Kennedy guts CDC's vaccine panel of independent experts” — the word “guts” leading its readers to side with pro-vaccine crowd.

An ACIP member, who spoke to NBC on the condition of anonymity, said, “The clear implication is that CDC will no longer be credible in the space of vaccination. Insurers and other funding agencies will have to turn to the professional associations for recommendations about vaccines.”

“I think RFK Junior is a conspiracy theorist, and that’s what this document is about,” Dr. Paul Offit told The New York Times.

But many doctors and scientists praised Kennedy’s move, including Dr Sherri Tenpenny, who commented on X: “This is unprecedented. And long overdue. The foundation is shaking. Keep your eyes open.”

Also on X, Mary Talley Bowden, MD, called the move, “Outstanding.”

One of the main inventors of mRNA therapy, Dr. Robert Malone, also supported Kennedy’s decision. Taking to X, Malone wrote, “Promises Made, Promises Kept, Secretary Kennedy and his team are marching through what he defined as MAHA objectives.”

Brownstone Institute founder Jeffrey A Tucker also expressed support for Kennedy, commenting, “This is the right way. Boom!”

At the close of his article, the HHS Secretary writes, “A clean sweep is needed to re-establish public confidence in vaccine science. In the 1960s, the world sought guidance from America’s health regulators, who had a reputation for integrity, scientific impartiality and zealous defense of patient welfare. Public trust has since collapsed, but we will earn it back.”