Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired all 17 members of the influential Federal Advisory Panel on Immunization (ACIP) and replaced them with new members[1][3]. Most of the new panel members have significantly less experience in vaccine science—on average, they have published 78% fewer articles on vaccines in peer-reviewed journals than their predecessors, while four of the eight new members have no publications in the field[1]. Some of the new panel members have publicly expressed doubts about vaccinations in the past and appear to be inexperienced in the science of vaccinations[1][3]. Among the new members is Robert Malone, a biochemist who falsely claimed to have invented mRNA vaccine technology, and who claims that COVID-19 vaccines have caused 17 million excess deaths, contradicting published studies suggesting that vaccines have saved millions of lives[1]. Kennedy justified the changes by trying to eliminate conflicts of interest, but at least one new panelist was recently paid $45,000 to work on a lawsuit against Merck over the Gardasil vaccine[1]. Public health experts have expressed concern that the new panel may lead to a change in approach to vaccination recommendations and that the medical community may not trust its advice.[1][3]