That is, until the experimental mRNA COVID vaccines were introduced, and it quickly became clear that misinformation was being spread about both the efficacy of the shots and the associated health risks. Since then, I have been skeptical of any statement issued by the Centers for Disease Control.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. aims to change this and rebuild trust. In line with this objective, he announced on Monday that he is dismissing all 17 members of the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP). This committee advises the CDC regarding the “safety, efficacy, and clinical necessity of the nation’s vaccines.”

In an editorial for the Wall Street Journal, the HHS director explained why he’s making such a bold move:

Vaccines have turned into a polarizing topic in American politics, but one point of consensus remains: The United States is experiencing a crisis of public trust. Confidence in health agencies, pharmaceutical companies, and vaccines themselves is declining.

You got that right, Mr. Secretary. He continued:

Today, we are taking a bold step in restoring public trust by totally reconstituting the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP). We are retiring the 17 current members of the committee, some of whom were last-minute appointees of the Biden administration. Without removing the current members, the current Trump administration would not have been able to appoint a majority of new members until 2028.

Alex Berenson, author of “Pandemia: How Coronavirus Hysteria Took Over Our Government, Rights, and Lives“ and a critic of many of the COVID responses by government entities (for which he was booted from Twitter before Elon Musk took over and reinstated him), was pleased by the news:

Urgent: @RobertKennedyJr just wiped out ACIP, the @cdcgov advisory panel that never met a vaccine it couldn’t rubber-stamp. Every member has been “retired.”

Good. The way CDC and ACIP pushed the mRNA Covid shots on kids proves they are in desperate need of new blood. pic.twitter.com/rTtH6z86pY

— Alex Berenson (@AlexBerenson) June 9, 2025