Influential vaccine advisory panel may be ‘disbanded’ after lawsuit, says former vice chair
For years, ACIP has advised U.S. vaccine policy. But after changes to its membership made by health secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., were challenged in court, the Trump administration is apparently changing tack
Photo by Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images
An influential vaccine advisory panel, known for shaping U.S. vaccine policy for decades, seems to have been dissolved, according to Robert Malone, its former vice chair. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which has played a pivotal role in establishing vaccine guidelines for both children and adults, is at the center of this development.
In a social media post on Thursday, Malone revealed that the Trump administration decided to dissolve the panel and establish a new ACIP committee. This decision follows a lawsuit from the American Academy of Pediatrics and five other medical organizations, challenging the recent appointments of ACIP members by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
A federal judge ruled on Monday that Kennedy, known for his skeptical views on vaccines, likely violated the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) by appointing 13 panelists. This act requires advisory groups to be “fair and balanced,” and the ruling has effectively halted ACIP’s activities.
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“Any new iteration of the committee must conform to the laws at issue in our case, including FACA,” says Richard Hughes, a lead counsel for the AAP in its case against Kennedy. “Anything short of a qualified committee selected through the proper process will meet our challenge.”
Malone’s post suggests that reforming ACIP “will take less time than would be required to file and prosecute an appeal. There will be no action from the government to respond to the defamatory characterization of the former ACIP members.”
It remains uncertain whether the Trump administration will appeal the judge’s decision, which also temporarily halted broad changes to vaccine recommendations made under Kennedy. At the time of the ruling, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services told Scientific American that the department hoped for the decision to be overturned. HHS and Robert Malone have not yet responded to requests for comment.
Editor’s Note (3/19/26): This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
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