WASHINGTON, June 16 – After Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired every member of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in an unprecedented decision that will make it harder for Americans to access safe and effective vaccines, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), wrote a letter to HELP Chairman Bill Cassidy (R-La.) calling for an immediate bipartisan investigation into these terminations and Kennedy’s efforts to mislead the American people about vaccine safety.
“Secretary Kennedy’s reckless decision to fire these non-partisan scientific experts and replace them with ideologues with limited expertise and a history of undermining vaccines will not only endanger the lives of Americans of all ages, it directly contradicts a commitment he made to you before he was confirmed that he would not make any significant changes to this important Committee,” Sanders wrote.
Sanders cited Cassidy’s own public remarks following the firings: “Now the fear is that the ACIP will be filled up with people who know nothing about vaccines except suspicion.”
ACIP is a federal advisory group of medical and public health experts who make evidence-based recommendations on which vaccines should be administered to whom and when. Those recommendations guide coverage by private insurers, Medicaid, Medicare and other government programs.
Last week, Secretary Kennedy gutted ACIP and began appointing replacements, who include a former professor who made comparisons between the COVID vaccine and Nazi medical experiments, a board member of an anti-vaccine organization, and a private equity firm leader. Kennedy also replaced the official at CDC who oversaw ACIP, a 20-year veteran of the agency, with a scheduling staffer.
Sanders’ letter follows an emergency resolution passed last week by the American Medical Association urging the HELP Committee to investigate the firings.
“While Secretary Kennedy’s actions are deeply disappointing they are not surprising,” Sanders continued. “For decades, Secretary Kennedy has spread lies and dangerous conspiracy theories about safe and effective vaccines that have saved millions of lives. Unfortunately, since he has been confirmed I am very concerned that Secretary Kennedy is doubling down on his war on science and disinformation campaign that will lead to preventable illness and death.”