Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime vaccine skeptic, fired all 17 members of a Centers of Disease Control and Prevention advisory committee of vaccine experts and said he will replace them with new members to restore “public trust” in his latest effort to overhaul American health agencies.
Critics say such a move puts ideology over science, will undermine the government’s role in vaccine safety, and could lead to more deadly disease transmissions.
The Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices makes recommendations on the safety, efficacy, and clinical need of vaccines to the CDC. It is comprised of medical and public health experts who develop recommendations on the use of vaccines in the civilian population of the United States.
“Today we are prioritizing the restoration of public trust above any specific pro- or anti-vaccine agenda,” Kennedy Jr., who has a history of spreading misleading and controversial claims about vaccines, said on June 9 in announcing the overhaul. “The public must know that unbiased science — evaluated through a transparent process and insulated from conflicts of interest — guides the recommendations of our health agencies.”
Dr. Bruce Scott, president of the American Medical Association, warned that Kennedy Jr’s work has undermined trust and “upends a transparent process that has saved countless lives.”
“With an ongoing measles outbreak and routine child vaccination rates declining, this move will further fuel the spread of vaccine-preventable illnesses,” he said.
As of June 5, a total of 1,168 confirmed measles cases were reported by 34 jurisdictions, including a child under four in Florida, and three people have died from it. The CDC said the deaths were the first from measles in the United States since 2015.
Kennedy Jr., when asked, has backed vaccination as a preventive tool during a measles outbreak but also said that vaccines should be left to parents’ discretion.
“What I would say is my opinions about vaccines are irrelevant,” the health secretary said after being after being asked about the measles vaccine.
Trump administration reducing COVID vaccine recommendations
On May 27, Kennedy Jr. announced that the COVID-19 vaccine would no longer be included in the CDC’s recommended immunization schedule for healthy children and pregnant women, a reversal of previous expert guidance.
As of June 10, pregnant women are still advised on the CDC website to stay current with COVID boosters, but where the CDC previously recommended COVID vaccines for everyone aged 6 months and older, the updated page now recommends them only for “most adults” aged 18 and older. Parents are instead urged to discuss vaccines for their children with their healthcare provider.
The CDC’s advisory committee did not vote on this change, USA TODAY reported, and did not appear in Kennedy Jr.’s social media video announcing it.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration leaders under Kennedy Jr. announced in May that the agency would stop recommending annual COVID-19 vaccines for anyone under the age of 65 without certain medical conditions.
What has RFK Jr. said about vaccines?
Kennedy, 71, a longtime environmental lawyer and founder of the anti-vaccine group Children’s Health Defense, has for years promoted several widely discredited views such as Wi-Fi causes cancer, fluoride in public water systems causes bone cancer and IQ loss, and antidepressants are linked to school shootings.
He has also long spread false and misleading claims about vaccines, including the debunked claim that vaccines cause autism, that COVID-19 was “ethnically targeted” to attack “Caucasians and Black people” while sparing “Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese” people, and the measles vaccine caused a measles outbreak. One of his advisors previously petitioned the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to withdraw the polio vaccine.
Although he stopped short of recommending measles vaccines, as the outbreak spread Kennedy Jr. did urge parents to consider measles vaccination. However, the health secretary, who has no formal medical training, also recommended other methods of prevention and treatment such as vitamin A, cod liver oil and a healthy diet.
Public health officials and doctors have said there is no evidence to support the claims that such moves prevent or treat measles. The only proven method of preventing measles, at a rate of 97% efficacy, is vaccination, according to the CDC.
What vaccines are recommended for adults?
The adult vaccine list currently recommended by the CDC has not changed since before President Donald Trump took office, but other government websites have updated to fit the priorities of the Trump administration. Here’s a list of the vaccines currently recommended by the CDC as of June 10, 2025.
The CDC recommends that everyone be up to date on these routine vaccines:
Other vaccines that adults may want to consider include:
Along with these, other vaccines are recommended for people in different situations.
What vaccines are recommended for pregnant people?
Especially make sure you get the flu vaccine if you’re pregnant during fly season, October through May.
What vaccines are recommended for healthcare workers?
Along with the routine ones, healthcare works also should get:
What vaccines are recommended for international travel?
Each country in the world has its own list of required vaccines, check when you make your plans. The CDC currently has a list here and note that measles cases are increasing across the globe. The World Health Organization also has a list of vaccines international travelers may want.
Talk to your healthcare provider and get any needed vaccines at least four to six weeks before your trip to help build up immunity. You can take the CDC quiz to get a list of vaccines you need based on your lifestyle, travel habits and other factors.
What vaccines are recommended for seniors?
What vaccines are recommended for people with health conditions?
What vaccines are recommended for children?
What vaccines does Florida require to attend school?
The state of Florida requires certain vaccines to be administered before children may enroll and attend childcare and school. According to the Florida Department of Health, the following vaccines are required, with age-appropriate doses:
Immunizations required for childcare and/or family daycare
Public/non-public preschool entry
Public/non-public schools kindergarten through 12th grade
As of 2010, children entering, attending or transferring to the seventh grade in Florida schools must also complete one Tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis (Tdap).
Contributing: Mary Walrath-Holdridge and Eduardo Cuevas, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: RFK Jr. fires entire 17-member CDC vaccine board. Here are the vaccines they recommended
Reporting by C. A. Bridges and Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
