SHM Joins Letter to HHS Secretary Kennedy on the termination of ACIP members

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June 18, 2025

The Honorable Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
Secretary
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Avenue SW
Washington, DC 20201

Dear Secretary Kennedy:

The undersigned medical professional organizations are writing to express our significant concern regarding your recent action to terminate the entirety of the membership of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). ACIP has, for decades, been a trusted advisory to CDC and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services leadership, providing evidence-based recommendations regarding vaccinations through a transparent public process. We strongly urge you to immediately reinstate the terminated members of ACIP and honor their commitments to serve through the end of their appointed terms. When the terms of current ACIP members come to an end, we strongly urge you to follow the long-established public process for ACIP nominations and selection of members, ensuring that experience and subject-matter expertise are prioritized.

Since its founding in 1964, ACIP has played a critical role in protecting the public’s health. ACIP panel members, selected for membership based on their significant experience and expertise in the field, provide a critical opportunity for public review of vaccine safety and efficacy data independent of elected or appointed officials. In addition to providing recommendations for childhood immunization schedules, ACIP provides recommendations for routine adult immunizations, collaborates with international partners on strain selection for immunizationsupdated annually, and plays a critical role in responding to public health emergencies.

We are already seeing a lack of trust in safe and effective vaccines result in a dramatic increase in vaccine-preventable diseases, as evidenced by the ongoing measles outbreak—an outbreak that has sickened over 1,100 and killed three. According to the CDC, 67 percent of cases were reported in children under the age of 20 and 97 percent were not fully vaccinated, had unknown vaccination status, or were not vaccinated at all. Removing a panel of independent experts appointed through a transparent, public nomination process and selected for their expertise on this issue will undoubtedly seek to sow further doubt and cause growing confusion amonghealthcare professionals and their patients, leading to additional increases in potentially serious illness among our patients.

Additionally, changes to the ACIP panel and ultimately to vaccine recommendations may have severe consequences for the public’s access to immunizations. As you know, vaccine coverage by health plans is largely based on CDC vaccine recommendations. Changes to these recommendations can have dramatic consequences on health plans’ coverage policies and may result in these plans dropping coverage for vaccines removed from immunization schedules. For many patients, a lack of coverage will effectively mean a lack of access, thereby raising the risks of increased spread of vaccine-preventable disease. As such, we urge the Administration to honor its early commitment to maintaining access to vaccines for all Americans who want them. This includes promoting policies that ensure continued coverage for routine immunizations.

To truly improve the health of our nation, including the health of our children, we must do everything in our power to protect our patients from vaccine-preventable disease by ensuring continued access to safe and effective vaccines licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. A critical step in preserving access and promoting trust in these life-saving immunizations is to continue our decades long commitment to a transparent and independent review of evidence-based recommendations by unbiased clinical experts. We therefore urge you to immediately reinstate the previously appointed ACIP members so they can continue their important work through the end of their appointments. We look forward to working with you to continue to promote the health and wellbeing of our patients and to ensure continued access to safe and effective vaccination.

Sincerely,

American Medical Association
Academy of Physicians in Clinical Research
American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
American Academy of Emergency Medicine
American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
American Academy of Family Physicians
American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine
American Academy of Neurology
American Academy of Ophthalmology
American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
American Association of Public Health Physicians
American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology
American College of Chest Physicians
American College of Emergency Physicians
American College of Gastroenterology
American College of Lifestyle Medicine
American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
American College of Physicians
American College of Rheumatology
American College of Surgeons
American Epilepsy Society
American Gastroenterological Association
American Geriatrics Society
American Society for Clinical Pathology
American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy
American Society of Addiction Medicine
American Society of Anesthesiologists
American Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgery
American Society of Dermatopathology
American Society of Hematology
American Society of Nephrology
American Society of Neuroimaging
American Society of Nuclear Cardiology
American Society of Transplant Surgeons
American Thoracic Society
Association of Academic Physiatrists
College of American Pathologists
Endocrine Society
Infectious Diseases Society of America
Korean American Medical Association
National Association of Medical Examiners
National Medical Association
Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medical Association
Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine
Society for Pediatric Dermatology
Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons
Society of Critical Care Medicine
Society of Hospital Medicine
The American Society of Dermatopathology
Medical Association of the State of Alabama
Alaska State Medical Association
Arizona Medical Association
California Medical Association
Colorado Medical Society
Connecticut State Medical Society
Medical Society of Delaware
Medical Society of the District of Columbia
Hawaii Medical Association
Idaho Medical Association
Illinois State Medical Society
Indiana State Medical Association
Iowa Medical Society
Kansas Medical Society
Kentucky Medical Association
Maine Medical Association
MedChi, The Maryland State Medical Society
Massachusetts Medical Society
Minnesota Medical Association
Mississippi State Medical Association
Missouri State Medical Association
Montana Medical Association
Nebraska Medical Association
Nevada State Medical Association
New Hampshire Medical Society
Medical Society of New Jersey
New Mexico Medical Society
Medical Society of the State of New York
North Carolina Medical Society
North Dakota Medical Association
Ohio State Medical Association
Oklahoma State Medical Association
Oregon Medical Association
Pennsylvania Medical Society
Rhode Island Medical Society
South Dakota State Medical Association
Tennessee Medical Association
Utah Medical Association
Vermont Medical Society
Medical Society of Virginia
Washington State Medical Association
Wisconsin Medical Society
Wyoming Medical Society