U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has faced another setback after he dismissed all 17 members of the nation's vaccine advisory panel earlier this month.
One of his newly-appointed replacements, Dr. Michael Ross, has already resigned from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices amid a mandatory review of financial holdings. Kennedy described Ross as a clinical professor at two universities, but he is not currently employed at either institution.
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Ross was among the eight vaccine advisors recently appointed by Kennedy to fill the positions left vacant after the mass firing. His exit came just as the panel, which advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccine recommendations, was set to meet on Wednesday.
Kennedy's decision to "retire" the former 17-member panel was met with strong criticism from medical associations and public health organizations, which expressed concerns that the panel of new advisers may align with Kennedy's intent to reevaluate — and potentially eliminate — some long-standing vaccine recommendations.
Kennedy said on the social media platform X that his new appointees are "committed to evidence-based medicine, gold-standard science, and common sense."
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