Kennedy last week announced he would "retire" the entire panel that guides U.S. vaccine policy. He also quietly removed Dr. Melinda Wharton — the veteran Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official who coordinated the committee's meetings.

Just two days after retiring the entirety of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory panel, US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has appointed several prominent critics of the government’s Covid-19 response to that committee.

RFK Jr. ousted the entire vaccine advisory panel, prompting backlash from experts who warned his abrupt decisions and controversial appointments could endanger U.S. immunization efforts and increase preventable disease outbreaks.