Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has appointed two new members to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). The appointments come ahead of a committee meeting scheduled for March 18-19, following ongoing changes and controversies within the panel.
The newly appointed ACIP members are Sean Downing, a specialist in internal medicine and pediatrics with over 20 years of primary care experience, and Angelina Farella, a pediatrician who owns A Brighter Tomorrow Family Health and Wellness in Texas. Kennedy stated, “Together, Downing and Farella bring decades of real-world experience to ACIP. That frontline perspective is essential to making recommendations that are grounded in gold-standard science and worthy of public trust.”
Kennedy dismissed all 17 previous ACIP members in June 2025, describing it as a “clean sweep” necessary to “reestablish public confidence in vaccine science.” The reconstituted committee now includes several members known for their skepticism toward vaccines.
Farella has previously voiced concerns about vaccines. In 2021, she addressed the Texas Senate with doubts regarding the safety of COVID-19 vaccines, alleging that animal testing was skipped during their development.
ACIP provides guidance to the CDC on vaccine recommendations for the U.S. population. While the CDC is not obligated to follow these recommendations, it typically does so. The committee meets three times annually; its most recent meeting was postponed due to instability within ACIP and ongoing debate about national vaccine policies.
At its upcoming session, ACIP plans to discuss topics including reported injuries related to COVID-19 vaccines and issues concerning long COVID.
Recent decisions by ACIP have led to changes in vaccination guidelines. In December, members voted to delay hepatitis B vaccination for infants not considered high-risk until two months after birth—a recommendation since adopted by the CDC. In January, six out of seventeen recommended childhood vaccinations were removed from the CDC’s schedule.
The rescheduling of this month’s ACIP meeting coincides with further leadership changes at the CDC: Jay Bhattacharya has taken over as acting director from Jim O’Neill.
In response to these shifts within ACIP, the American Academy of Pediatrics filed a lawsuit against the Department of Health and Human Services last July. The group claims Kennedy’s actions have undermined public trust in vaccines since he became health secretary. A federal judge dismissed an initial motion by the government to throw out the case in January but recently delayed issuing a final decision while awaiting more information from both sides.
