From LifeSiteNews

By Robert Jones

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has announced eight appointments for the CDC’s top vaccine advisory panel, following his dismissal of all 17 previous members, citing a need to rebuild public trust in the federal immunization process.

On Monday, I took a major step towards restoring public trust in vaccines by reconstituting the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP). I retired the 17 current members of the committee. I’m now repopulating ACIP with the eight new members who will attend ACIP’s…

— Secretary Kennedy (@SecKennedy) June 11, 2025

RFK Jr. said the new Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) will demand “definitive safety and efficacy data” before issuing any new vaccine recommendations and will re-evaluate existing guidance. The restructured panel is set to convene on June 25.

The appointees include several prominent physicians and scientists, including former Harvard epidemiologist Martin Kulldorff and mRNA researcher Robert Malone, both known for their criticism of COVID-19-era public health policy and the COVID-19 shots.

Kulldorff helped draft the Great Barrington Declaration with Jay Bhattacharya and Sunetra Gupta, which called for focused protection rather than mass lockdowns – a position widely debated among epidemiologists. He also spoke out strongly against vaccine passports and mandates, as well as mask mandates and contact tracing. He was dismissed from Harvard in 2024 because of his refusal to receive the COVID-19 injections.

Malone, who conducted early work on mRNA vaccine delivery systems, was banned from several platforms for posts deemed “misleading” during the COVID crisis. He has given related interviews on The Joe Rogan Experience and elsewhere and was reinstated on X following Elon Musk’s revision of COVID-19 policies.

Retsef Levi, a professor at MIT, has raised concerns about potential cardiovascular risks linked to COVID-19 mRNA shots and has called for stricter safety monitoring. In 2023, a petition circulated opposing his work, though it did not gain traction.

Other appointees include:

• Joseph Hibbeln, an NIH psychiatrist and nutrition researcher focused on immune and neurodevelopmental health.
• Cody Meissner, a pediatric infectious disease expert with previous experience on both FDA and CDC vaccine panels.
• James Pagano, a veteran emergency physician with decades of clinical experience.
• Vicky Pebsworth, a nurse-scientist with prior FDA vaccine advisory roles and Pacific Region Director of the National Association of Catholic Nurses. She is also a Lay Dominican.
• Michael Ross, an OB-GYN and clinical researcher with a background in immunology and women’s health policy.

Joseph R. Hibbeln, MD, is a psychiatrist and neuroscientist with a career in clinical research, public health policy, and federal service. As former Acting Chief of the Section on Nutritional Neurosciences at the National Institutes of Health, he led research on immune regulation, neurodevelopment, and mental health. His work has informed U.S. public health guidelines, particularly in maternal and child health. With more than 120 peer-reviewed publications and extensive experience in federal advisory roles, Dr. Hibbeln brings expertise in immune-related outcomes, psychiatric conditions, and evidence-based public health strategies.

Martin Kulldorff, MD, PhD, is a biostatistician and epidemiologist formerly at Harvard Medical School and a leading expert in vaccine safety and infectious disease surveillance. He has served on the Food and Drug Administration’s Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee and the CDC’s Vaccine Safety Subgroup of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, where he contributed to national vaccine safety monitoring systems. Dr. Kulldorff developed widely used tools such as SaTScan and TreeScan for detecting disease outbreaks and vaccine adverse events. His expertise includes statistical methods for public health surveillance, immunization safety, and infectious disease epidemiology. He has also been an influential voice in public health policy, advocating for evidence-based approaches to pandemic response.

Retsef Levi, PhD, is the Professor of Operations Management at the MIT Sloan School of Management and a leading expert in healthcare analytics, risk management, and vaccine safety. He has served as Faculty Director of MIT Sloan’s Food Supply Chain Analytics and Sensing Initiative and co-led the Leaders for Global Operations Program. Dr. Levi has collaborated with public health agencies to evaluate vaccine safety, including co-authoring studies on mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and their association with cardiovascular risks. His research has contributed to discussions on vaccine manufacturing processes, safety surveillance, and public health policy. Dr. Levi has also served on advisory committees and engaged in policy discussions concerning vaccine safety and efficacy. His expertise spans healthcare systems optimization, epidemiologic modeling, and the application of AI and data science in public health. Dr. Levi’s work continues to inform national and international debates on immunization safety and health system resilience.

Robert W. Malone, MD, is a physician-scientist and biochemist known for his early contributions to mRNA vaccine technology. He conducted foundational research in the late 1980s on lipid-mediated mRNA delivery, which laid the groundwork for later developments in mRNA-based therapeutics. Dr. Malone has held academic positions at institutions including the University of California, Davis, and the University of Maryland, and has served in advisory roles for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense. His expertise spans molecular biology, immunology, and vaccine development.

Cody Meissner, MD, is a Professor of Pediatrics at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth and a nationally recognized expert in pediatric infectious diseases and vaccine policy. He has served as Section Chief of Pediatric Infectious Disease at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and has held advisory roles with both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Dr. Meissner has been a voting member of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, where he has contributed to national immunization guidelines and regulatory decisions. His expertise spans vaccine development, immunization safety, and pediatric infectious disease epidemiology. Dr. Meissner has also been a contributing author to American Academy of Pediatrics policy statements and immunization schedules, helping shape national standards for pediatric care.

James Pagano, MD, is a board-certified Emergency Medicine physician with over 40 years of clinical experience following his residency at UCLA. He has worked in diverse emergency settings, from Level 1 trauma centers to small community hospitals, caring for patients across all age groups, including infants, pregnant women, and the elderly. Dr. Pagono served on multiple hospital committees, including utilization review, critical care, and medical executive boards. He is strong advocate for evidence-based medicine.

Vicky Pebsworth, OP, PhD, RN, earned a doctorate in public health and nursing from the University of Michigan. She has worked in the healthcare field for more than 45 years, serving in various capacities, including critical care nurse, healthcare administrator, health policy analyst, and research scientist with a focus on public health policy, bioethics, and vaccine safety. She is the Pacific Region Director of the National Association of Catholic Nurses. She is a former member of the Food and Drug Administration’s Vaccine and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee and the National Vaccine Advisory Committee’s 2009 H1N1 Vaccine Safety Risk Assessment Working Group and Vaccine Safety Working Group (Epidemiology and Implementation Subcommittees).

Michael A. Ross, MD, is a Clinical Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at George Washington University and Virginia Commonwealth University, with a career spanning clinical medicine, research, and public health policy. He has served on the CDC’s Advisory Committee for the Prevention of Breast and Cervical Cancer, where he contributed to national strategies for cancer prevention and early detection, including those involving HPV immunization. With research experience in hormone therapies, antibiotic trials, and immune-related conditions such as breast cancer prevention, Dr. Ross has engaged in clinical investigations with immunologic relevance. He has advised major professional organizations, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and contributed to federal advocacy efforts around women’s health and preventive care. His continued service on biotech and healthcare boards reflects his commitment to advancing innovation in immunology, reproductive medicine, and public health.

Kennedy framed the move as part of a broader campaign to remove conflicts of interest and restore credibility to federal vaccine recommendations. Just a few days ago, he accused the panel of having been “little more than a rubber stamp for any vaccine” and pledged that the new members would not have direct ties with the vaccine industry.

The new ACIP, he said, will be focused on what RFK called “gold-standard science” and “common sense.” The June meeting will mark the beginning of its work.