US left without functioning vaccine panel as adviser says ‘drama distracts’

Amid upheaval to the US vaccine advisory committee Robert Malone, the former co-chair and controversial figure who has opposed vaccines, says he has been pushed out and will not be involved in any future decisions. The move comes after a federal judge stayed the appointment of 13 members of the advisory committee on immunization practices (ACIP), essentially invalidating their roles on the committee and the decisions they have made.

Those new advisers were all hand-picked by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, after he fired the previous 17 members of the ACIP in June – but the judge ruled they were unqualified and not selected properly.

The US now has no functioning advisory committee, and several key vaccines are no longer recommended, including the latest version of flu and Covid shots and the inclusion of the RSV shot for infants in the federal Vaccines for Children program, which covers immunisations for more than half of US children.

Malone has incorrectly claimed that vaccines are dangerous and ineffective; at one point, he was banned from Twitter for allegedly spreading misinformation. In the most recent ACIP meeting in December, he frequently interrupted other advisers and outside experts, and he raised doubts about the vaccination schedule.

“The specific elephant, in this case, has to do with cumulative risk across the entire childhood vaccine schedule, and that is a risk for which we do not have adequate data,” he said – a claim disputed by the CDC’s own data.

“It is good that Dr Malone wishes now to decrease drama regarding vaccines,” which “contrasts” with his prior statements, said Joseph Hibbeln, a psychiatrist and nutritional neuroscientist who was also appointed to the committee in June.

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Source: The Guardian, 25 March 2026