ACOG cites restructuring of panel and removal of its experts as reasons for withdrawing from ACIP participation.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
The American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists announced Feb. 24 that it is withdrawing from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, citing concerns over recent changes to the panel and the removal of its representatives from committee workgroups.
ACOG said it will no longer participate in ACIP, the body that advises the CDC on vaccine recommendations. The organization pointed to what it described as a reconstitution of the committee and unilateral changes to vaccine guidance by officials at the CDC and its parent agency, the Department of Health and Human Services.
In a public statement, ACOG President Dr. Steven J. Fleischman said, “ACOG has always been committed to evidence-based medicine and to the health and safety of our patients. For decades, we have proudly participated in ACIP to ensure that vaccine recommendations are grounded in rigorous scientific evidence and protect the health of pregnant women, children, and families.”
He continued, “The recent reconstitution of the committee; the removal of ACOG experts from ACIP workgroups; and HHS’ unilateral changes to vaccine recommendations, which bypassed established scientific and clinical processes, represent a fundamental departure from the scientific rigor and impartiality that have been the hallmark of this committee for 60 years.”
Fleischman added that the decision does not reflect a retreat from immunization advocacy. “ACOG’s withdrawal from ACIP is not a withdrawal from our commitment to advancing vaccine science or to protecting patients’ health and safety; rather, it reflects an unwavering dedication to ensuring that clinical recommendations for immunizations are based solely on the best available scientific evidence.”
Rich Danker, assistant secretary for public affairs at HHS, responded to the development in comments to The Epoch Times, calling the move “political grandstanding from an organization overly reliant on Big Pharma for funding.”
ACOG publicly reported receiving more than $100,000 from GlaxoSmithKline and more than $20,000 from CSL Seqirus in 2024 and 2025. The organization stated that its members who served on ACIP workgroups had been vetted for conflicts of interest.
Retsef Levi, a current ACIP member, told The Epoch Times that he regretted ACOG’s departure and criticized what he described as unsupported claims against the committee.
“I wish that they would be able to explain more concretely to what ACIP’s recommendations they object,” he said.
For years, professional medical organizations, including ACOG, collaborated with CDC advisers through ACIP workgroups that reviewed scientific data and presented findings to the full panel. In August 2025, federal health officials notified several organizations that they were being removed from those workgroups, citing either ongoing litigation against the government or potential conflicts of interest stemming from financial relationships with vaccine manufacturers.
At the time, an HHS spokesman told The Epoch Times, “We are fulfilling our promise to the American people to never again allow those conflicts to taint vaccine recommendations.”
ACOG continues to recommend that pregnant women receive influenza and COVID-19 vaccinations, as well as immunization against tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis. It also advises that certain women receive a respiratory syncytial virus vaccine during pregnancy and, depending on circumstances, other immunizations.
The CDC’s adult vaccine schedule says pregnant women should receive a Tdap vaccine and, unless recently vaccinated, an influenza shot. It states that women may receive a COVID-19 vaccine after consultation with a physician. The CDC previously recommended COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy.
The American Academy of Pediatrics, which also receives funding from vaccine manufacturers, is among the organizations that previously withdrew from ACIP after Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. replaced the committee’s members. The academy and other groups filed a lawsuit in 2025 challenging that restructuring and related actions. ACOG later submitted an amicus brief in the case.
A federal judge is considering whether to block the revised CDC vaccine schedule and the restructuring of the advisory panel but has not issued a ruling.
A February ACIP meeting that had been canceled has since been rescheduled for March 18–19. An agenda has not yet been posted, and federal officials have not commented on what topics will be addressed.
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