Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of health and human services, appointed eight new members of an expert panel that advises the federal government on immunization policy, including several vocal vaccine critics and one who identifies as an “anti-vaxxer.

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced on Monday he is removing all 17 members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory committee.

A fired committee member who served on the panel since July 2024 said the decision to fire him and his colleagues came from "out of the blue."