Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Jan. 13 added to the panel that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about a week after officials bypassed the panel and made significant changes to the CDC’s childhood vaccine schedule.

Kennedy appointed Dr. Kimberly Biss, who is based in Florida, and Dr. Adam Urato, who is based in Massachusetts, to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).

“ACIP serves as Americans’ watchdog for vaccine safety and transparency,” Kennedy said in a statement. “Dr. Urato and Dr. Biss bring the scientific credentials, clinical experience, and integrity this committee requires.”

Biss, who has been critical of COVID-19 vaccines, is a senior fellow for the Independent Medical Alliance. Two other members, Drs. Kirk Milhoan and Robert Malone, are part of the organization, which has voiced support for Kennedy’s actions over the past year.

“For too long, major conflicts of interest marked the actions of ACIP, with the panel becoming a rubber stamp for the pharmaceutical industry,” Dr. Joseph Varon, the alliance’s president and chief medical officer, said in a statement. “Now, doctors are restoring the panel to a patient-first, individualized health care focus. And when it comes to vaccines, that’s ‘just what the doctor ordered.’”

Urato wrote on X in 2025 that “the science is not ‘long-settled’ regarding vaccines.”

In another post, he wrote, “It’s important to evaluate risks, benefits, [and] alternatives for each vaccine or medication individually.”

ACIP meets several times a year to go over new data on vaccines. It provides advice to the CDC on possible changes to vaccine guidance.

Kennedy in 2025 removed all members of the panel, saying they were conflicted, and picked their replacements.

The CDC made several changes to vaccine guidance based on advice from the remade panel, including scaling back guidance on COVID-19 vaccination and halting a universal recommendation that all infants receive a shot against hepatitis B.

On Jan. 5, the CDC narrowed the number of vaccines routinely advised for all children without consulting ACIP.

Asked if the changes made ACIP irrelevant, a senior HHS official told reporters on a call that ACIP “continues to be important,” will keep meeting multiple times per year, and officials “will continue to pose important questions for them.”

The official added, “We will continue to update the schedule based on their advice, their thorough examination of particular vaccines, two or three at a time.”

The next ACIP meeting is scheduled to take place on Feb. 25 and Feb. 26. Other meetings are scheduled for June and October.

Some health organizations have sued the government to try to reverse Kennedy’s replacement of ACIP members, alleging he violated federal law, which requires membership to be “fairly balanced” and not be “inappropriately influenced” by the health secretary.

A federal judge recently concluded that plaintiffs plausibly alleged the panel is not fairly balanced, pointing to statements many members made against COVID-19 vaccines or vaccines in general made with messenger ribonucleic acid technology. The judge let the lawsuit proceed, prompting plaintiffs to say they plan to lodge a motion seeking to block the February meeting from happening.

One of the plaintiffs, the American Academy of Pediatrics, which partners with vaccine companies, accused the panel of “disseminating misinformation.”