Dr. Robert Malone Resigns from CDC Vaccine Committee

Dr. Robert Malone, the vice chair of a key federal vaccine advisory committee, resigned his position on Tuesday amid ongoing legal challenges and internal tensions within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Malone, a physician and biochemist with early research contributions to messenger RNA technology, stepped down from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP. The committee provides recommendations on vaccine use for the American public. His departure follows a federal judge's ruling last week that blocked the panel's recent actions and questioned the qualifications of its members, who were appointed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

In June, Kennedy dismissed all 17 previous ACIP members and replaced them with a new slate, including Malone, as part of an effort to reassess federal vaccine guidelines. The committee subsequently proposed changes to the childhood immunization schedule, reducing recommended shots from 17 to 11 by rescinding endorsements for vaccines against hepatitis B at birth, rotavirus, and annual influenza, among others. These alterations aimed to align recommendations more...