Story perspectives

RFK Jr. Overhauls Vaccine Panel, States Reject CDC, Court Blocks

7/6/2026

Summary

Story summary

Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. removed 17-member Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP) on June 9, 2025 and installed members without medical or scientific backgrounds, which Dr. Debra Houry called chaos.
Houry said 29 states and Washington, D.C., stopped using CDC recommendations as benchmark for childhood vaccinations.
A court blocked the panel's vote to drop thimerosal, end universal hepatitis B birth dose, and shorten the schedule in March 2026.

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Story summary

Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. removed 17-member Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP) on June 9, 2025 and installed members without medical or scientific backgrounds, which Dr. Debra Houry called chaos.
Houry said 29 states and Washington, D.C., stopped using CDC recommendations as benchmark for childhood vaccinations.
A court blocked the panel's vote to drop thimerosal, end universal hepatitis B birth dose, and shorten the schedule in March 2026.