RFK Jr. appoints Robert Malone, other COVID shot critics to overhauled CDC vaccine panel

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.

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...

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.