WASHINGTON (June 11, 2025)--The US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Jr. removed all members of a committee that provides scientific advice on how and when to use vaccines. RFK Jr. says he will replace those scientific experts with his own people, a move that critics say would open the panel to anti-vaccine activists.
Critics worry that such actions could encourage anti-vaccine sentiment around the country. The current outbreak of measles in Texas has been linked to vaccine hesitancy and misinformation about the safety of vaccines.
Prior to joining HHS, RFK Jr. was a prominent voice in the anti-vaccine movement and he recently ended the COVID vaccine recommendation for pregnant women and children.
The George Washington University has experts available to talk about all aspects of this issue. To schedule an interview with an expert on this topic please contact Kathy Fackelmann, kfackelmann
gwu [dot] edu (kfackelmann[at]gwu[dot]edu) or Katelyn Deckelbaum, katelyn [dot] deckelbaumgwu [dot] edu (katelyn[dot]deckelbaum[at]gwu[dot]edu).
Emily Smith, is an associate professor of global health and an expert in infectious diseases and epidemiology, at the GW Milken Institute School of Public Health. Smith published a large meta-analysis in 2023 that underscored the importance of the COVID vaccine for pregnant women. She can discuss vaccine misinformation and the importance of vaccines for public health.
Neil Johnson, a professor of physics at GW, has studied the origin and spread of internet misinformation, including false information about vaccines. In a study published in 2022, Johnson focused specifically on how false content emanates from Russian sources and spreads across social media platforms.
Tony Yang, is a professor in health policy at the GW School of Nursing with a joint appointment at the GW Milken Institute School of Public Health. In a recent piece published in The Conversation, Yang shows that game theory, a mathematical framework, helps explain why some parents choose not to vaccinate their own children. He and his co-author, Avi Dor, say the recent measles outbreak in Texas can be explained in part by this behavior.
Sara Rosenbaum, is professor emerita of health law and policy and founding chair of the Department of Health Policy at the GW Milken Institute School of Public Health. She has devoted her career to issues of health justice, and health care for medically underserved populations. Rosenbaum and a co-author recently published a piece in Health Affairs about the issue, Vaccine Policy in Crisis: Secretary Kennedy Dismisses Entire Advisory Committee On Immunization Practices.
Richard Ricciardi is associate dean for Clinical Practice and Community Engagement at the GW School of Nursing and the executive director for the Center for Health Policy and Media Engagement.
Renée Gentry is a distinguished professorial lecturer in law and Director of the Vaccine Injury Litigation Clinic at GW Law. Gentry founded her own firm, the Law Office of Renée J. Gentry, Esq. in Washington DC, specializing in vaccine injury litigation in June 2019. She is one of the leading experts on vaccine injury litigation in the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.
Peter H. Meyers is a professor of law emeritus and former Director of the Vaccine Injury Litigation Clinic at GW Law.