HHS Withdraws Revised ACIP Charter After Administrative Error

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has withdrawn a revised charter for a key federal vaccine advisory panel, citing an administrative error in its publication process. The move halts, for now, a significant effort by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to reshape the committee that guides national immunization policy.

The withdrawn charter, issued on April 6, would have governed the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It had expanded the panel’s stated mission to include a greater focus on vaccine safety evidence and risks. It also broadened membership qualifications beyond traditional expertise in immunization practices to include fields like toxicology, data science, and health economics, while adding slots for non-voting representatives from groups skeptical of vaccines.

This action follows a March ruling by a federal judge that blocked Kennedy’s prior overhaul of the committee. Last year, Kennedy had removed all 17 independent experts serving on ACIP and replaced them with new appointees. The reconstituted panel subsequently voted to end universal recommendations for several...