Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is removing all 17 members of a key advisory committee that helps craft vaccine policy and recommendations for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Kennedy made the announcement on Monday afternoon in a press release from the Department of Health and Human Services and an opinion piece published by The Wall Street Journal .

In his role as head of HHS, Kennedy has the legal authority to replace members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) , but the decision to scrap the entire committee flies in the face of precedent and has alarmed the public health and medical establishment.

"A clean sweep is necessary to reestablish public confidence in vaccine science," Kennedy said in a statement, "ACIP new members will

See Full Page