Updated guidelines broaden expertise requirements and introduce new organizations amid ongoing legal and policy disputes.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has revised the charter governing the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, introducing changes to membership criteria and the committee’s scope as part of a routine federal renewal process, according to a report in The Epoch Times.
According to reporting, the update affects both who may serve on the panel and how it evaluates vaccine-related data. Federal advisory committee charters must be renewed every two years under existing law.
One of the primary changes expands the qualifications for membership. Previously, the committee required expertise in specific areas such as immunization practices, vaccine research, or evaluation of vaccine safety and effectiveness. The revised charter, available through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, now allows members to be selected from a broader range of fields, including medicine, toxicology, pediatric neurodevelopment, data science, statistical analysis, health economics, and experience related to recovery from serious vaccine injuries or public health.
The changes follow Kennedy’s earlier decision in 2025 to remove existing ACIP members and appoint new ones, citing concerns about potential conflicts of interest. A federal judge later stayed those appointments and related vaccine recommendation updates, stating that proper procedures were not followed and raising concerns about whether new members met prior qualification standards.
In addition to membership changes, the revised charter includes updated language emphasizing immunization safety. The committee will continue advising the CDC on controlling vaccine-preventable diseases but will also address “decreased symptomatology,” evaluate gaps in vaccine safety research, including adverse effects following vaccination, and review vaccination schedules used by other countries and international organizations.
Retsef Levi, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and one of the appointees, said in a statement that “the new charter reflects a very positive change towards [a] more comprehensive assessment of benefits and risks of vaccines that leverages and integrates [a] broader set of relevant knowledge domains and expertise.”
Barbara Loe Fisher, co-founder of the National Vaccine Information Center, said the updated charter is “encouraging in that it contains language about the duty of the federal vaccine policymaking committee to review data on vaccine safety and adverse events, fill in knowledge gaps about vaccine risks, and make recommendations about vaccination schedules that take into account cumulative exposures to vaccines and vaccine components, among other factors.”
The revision also introduces four new liaison organizations, including Physicians for Informed Consent. Liaison groups do not vote but participate in meetings and discussions. Dr. Shira Miller, founder of the group, said, “We have been educating the public about this (and more) for years, so we are honored and grateful to now have a seat at the ACIP table …where our points can be better heard.”
The CDC, for example, states that approximately one in 1,000 children infected with measles will die, while Physicians for Informed Consent argues that such figures are based on reported cases and may not account for unreported infections.
Some existing liaison organizations remain, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, both of which have historically participated in committee discussions. The only liaison removed was the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, which had previously announced it would disengage from the panel after changes limiting liaison participation in subgroups.
Dr. Jane Orient of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, another newly added liaison, said it is “very important for the ACIP to receive input from groups not compromised by funding from enterprises the government is supposed to regulate.”
Reactions to the charter changes have varied. Dr. Ronald Nahass, president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, said in a statement that the revisions “appear to skew ACIP’s work toward vaccine safety and adverse events, rather than maintaining the committee’s balanced and thorough approach that traditionally has considered the full scope of vaccine data.”
Aaron Siri, an attorney who has represented Kennedy, said, “This is a good step toward having a committee that considers vaccine safety as well as efficacy. Children harmed by vaccines deserve the same protection as those potentially harmed by infectious disease.”
Del Bigtree of the Informed Consent Action Network wrote that the changes represent progress, stating, “These are the changes we have been fighting for. This is what it looks like when it starts to work.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services said the charter renewal is a routine requirement and “does not signal any broader policy shift.” Officials have not indicated whether they will appeal the recent court ruling, though they have been considering alternative options, including replacing committee members.
The future direction of the advisory panel remains uncertain as legal and administrative developments continue.
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