Columbus Public Health commissioner part of CDC vaccine advisory committee ousted by RFK Jr.
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
RFK Jr. removes Columbus Public Health commissioner from CDC vaccine advisory panel
The 17-member Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices had been in a state of flux since Kennedy took over. Columbus Public Health Commissioner Dr. Mysheika Roberts was a member of the panel. Roberts: “I’m concerned about the guidance we’ll get from a public health perspective” Kennedy, who was one of the nation’s leading anti-vaccine activists, has not said who he would appoint to the panel, but said it would convene in just two weeks in Atlanta. The panel’s now-former chair, Dr. Helen Keipp Talbot of Vanderbilt University, declined to comment when reached by phone, but another panel member said he and other committee members received an email late Monday afternoon.
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COLUMBUS, Ohio — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has removed every member of a scientific committee that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on how to use vaccines. He is pledging to replace them with his own picks.
The 17-member Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices had been in a state of flux since Kennedy took over. Columbus Public Health Commissioner Dr. Mysheika Roberts was a member of the panel.
Dr. Roberts was appointed to the committee at the end of 2024. Her term was scheduled to start in July.
Major physicians and public health groups criticized the move to oust all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
10TV’s Tracy Townsend spoke with Dr. Roberts shortly after the panel was ousted.
“I was a bit pessimistic about with the new administration coming in what would really happen. So, I can’t say I was really surprised, but I’m definitely disappointed. And I’m concerned about the guidance we’ll get from a public health perspective on immunizations moving forward with this administration,” she said.
Kennedy, who was one of the nation’s leading anti-vaccine activists before becoming the nation’s top health official, has not said who he would appoint to the panel, but said it would convene in just two weeks in Atlanta.
When reached by phone, the panel’s now-former chair, Dr. Helen Keipp Talbot of Vanderbilt University, declined to comment. But another panel member, Noel Brewer at the University of North Carolina, said he and other committee members received an email late Monday afternoon that said their services on the committee had been terminated but gave no reason.
“I’d assumed I’d continue serving on the committee for my full term,” said Brewer, who joined the panel last summer.
Tracy Townsend obtained the email Dr. Roberts received, which stated:
“Per the June 9, 2025, directive from the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, this email serves as formal notice of your immediate termination as a member of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).
“We appreciate your prior service and commitment.”
Dr. Roberts is urging parents and guardians to talk with their providers about the vaccine schedule for their children.
The Commissioner also cautions that if a new advisory panel decides not to recommend vaccines, including those that are considered standard of care, they may not be covered by insurance, and you’d have to pay out of pocket.
“I just want to remind people we’ve seen these outbreaks of measles and pertussis, but if you go back a hundred years, those were the diseases that were killing our communities,” Roberts said.
Her best advice is that if you want to protect your loved one from these infectious diseases, follow that vaccine schedule from the American Academy of Pediatrics.