Meet the vaccines skeptics that are now part of RFK Jr.’s vaccine approval committee

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., has announced new members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory panel.

Earlier in the week, the secretary made waves when he purged all 17 former members, citing “historical corruption at ACIP.”

“The most outrageous example of ACIP’s malevolent malpractice has been its stubborn unwillingness to demand adequate safety trials before recommending new vaccines for our children,” he wrote in a post on X.

In their place, Kennedy hand picked eight members, who he said were individuals “committed to evidence-based medicine, gold-standard science, and common sense” and who wouldn’t be “ideological anti-vaxxers.” He noted that each of them have committed to “demanding definitive safety and efficacy data before making any new vaccine recommendations” and that the committee would review safety and efficacy data for the current schedule.

But, the moves have been concerning to experts, who noted that several members have been critical of vaccines. The fired panel members have said that their ousting signaled that scientific expertise was “no longer of use” under Kennedy and that that decision would “undermine public trust in the vaccine process,” in a time when vaccine hesitancy has led to the spread of measles and other disease. So, who are the new members Kennedy says will help to restore that trust? Here’s what and who to know…

Dr. Robert W. Malone

Dr. Robert Malone is a former mRNA researcher who has been a close advisory to Kennedy. Kennedy said he has served in advisory roles for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Defense.

He earned a medical degree from Northwestern University in 1991 and has taught at the University of California at Davis and the University of Maryland.

He runs a wellness institute and a popular blog, and has been active on social media and in various outlets. He rose to prominence during the pandemic, relaying conspiracy theories about the vaccines and Covid. He has promoted alternative treatments for the virus and measles. He’s claimed that millions of Americans were hypnotized into taking the shots and suggested that the vaccines cause a form of AIDS.

Malone said in a post on X that he will do his best “to serve with unbiased objectivity and rigor.”

“I have attended many, many ACIP meetings in the past on behalf of clients. I played a key role in enabling advanced development of the Merck Ebola vaccine. I have deep expertise and experience in influenza vaccines and vaccine manufacturing technology, and have spoken on this issue at the WHO by invitation,” he said.

Dr. Martin Kulldorff

Dr. Martin Kulldorff is a biostatistician and epidemiologist. He’s a founding member of the D.C.-based Academy for Science and Freedom at the nonsectarian Christian Hillsdale College. The academy aims to “combat the recent and widespread abuses of individual and academic freedom made in the name of science” and “educate the American people about the “free exchange of scientific ideas and the proper relationship between freedom and science in the pursuit of truth.”

Formerly a professor at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Kulldorf wrote in an op-ed that telling the “truth” had gotten him fired.

“Bodily autonomy is not the only argument against Covid vaccine mandates. They are also unscientific and unethical,” wrote Kulldorff.

On LinkedIn, he has said the National Institute of Health had failed Americans during the pandemic.

Notably, he was a co-author of the Great Barrington Declaration, along with NIH head Jay Bhattacharya, which was an October 2020 letter maintaining that pandemic shutdowns were causing harm.

He has posted on X in support of the positions of Kennedy, Bhattacharya, and new FDA Director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research Dr. Vinay Prasad.

Kennedy said Kulldorff has served on the Food and Drug Administration’s Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee and the CDC’s Vaccine Safety Subgroup of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. He noted Kulldorff also developed widely used tools such as SaTScan and TreeScan for detecting disease outbreaks and vaccine adverse events, and said he was an advocate for “evidence-based approaches to pandemic response.”

On Thursday, Endpoints News reported that Kulldorff and Malone were paid hundreds of dollars an hour to be a part of cases challenging the safety and efficacy of drugmaker Merck’s HPV and MMR shots. Malone confirmed he had done “expert witness consultation.”

A request for comment from Kulldorff was not immediately returned.

Dr. Retsef Levi

Dr. Retsef Levi is a professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management. He also serves as the faculty leader for Food Chain Supply Analytics.

Prior to working at MIT, he spent nearly 12 years as an officer in the Intelligence Wing of the Israeli Defense Forces.

An MIT bio page for Levi says he leads several industry-based collaborative research efforts with local hospitals and that he has been on contract to address risk related to “economically motivated adulterations of food manufactured in global supply chains.”

His pinned tweet claims that mRNA vaccines “cause serious harm including death, especially among young people.”

“We have to stop giving them immediately!” he urged.

“From what I’ve seen so far, I think it’s obvious that these mRNA vaccines should not be given to anybody young or healthy. It is also not at all clear to me that they should be given to anybody, based on the evidence,” he said in a new interview.

“I am honored with this opportunity and humbled by the responsibility,” he wrote.

Vicky Pebsworth

A registered nurse and a regional director for the National Association of Catholic Nurses, Vicky Pebsworth has been listed as a board member and volunteer director for the National Vaccine Information Center, a group previously described in The Washington Post as “the oldest anti-vaccine advocacy group” in the country.

She earned a doctorate in public health and nursing from the University of Michigan.

She has worked in the health care field in various capacities for more than 45 years.

She is a former member of the FDA’s Vaccine and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee and the National Vaccine Advisory Committee’s 2009 H1N1 Vaccine Safety Risk Assessment Working Group and Vaccine Safety Working Group (Epidemiology and Implementation Subcommittees), according to Kennedy.

“Her son — her only child — experienced serious, long-term health problems following receipt of seven live virus and killed bacterial vaccines administered during his 15-month well-baby visit which sparked her interest in vaccine safety research and policymaking and chronic illness and disability in children,” a bio page for her says.

But, there are others on the panel whose vaccine stances aren’t as clear.

Dr. Joseph R. Hibbeln

Dr. Joseph Hibbeln has worked at the National Institutes of Health since the late 1990s. He formerly served as the Acting Chief of of the Section on Nutritional Neurosciences.

He is also a psychiatrist and neuroscientist, with work focused on how nutrition affects the brain, including the potential benefits of seafood consumption during pregnancy.

He attended the University of Chicago for his undergraduate degree and received his medical degrees from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1988. He served his residency at UCLA in 1992.

He serves as a Captain in the United States Public Health Service.

Recently, he wrote to ask another LinkedIn user about their position regarding “closing nearly all vaccine research” at the Department of Health and Human Services.

Dr. Cody Meissner

Dr. Cody Meissner is a former member of the committee and a professor of pediatrics at the Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine.

He is the Chief of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Tufts Children’s Hospital and has served as a member of the Human Health and Services (HHS) Tick-borne Diseases Working Group.

He has been the principal investigator for numerous vaccine clinical trials and the HHS Chair of the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. He’s held an advisory role at the Food and Drug Administration.

Florida Republican Governor Ron Santis has quoted him as saying that closing schools during the Covid pandemic had “aggravated the issue of inequity in our society.”

Dr. James Pagano

Dr. James Pagano is an emergency medicine physician with more than 40 years of clinical experience.

He also did his residency at UCLA.

“Dr. Pagano served on multiple hospital committees, including utilization review, critical care, and medical executive boards. He is strong advocate for evidence-based medicine,” Kennedy said.

Dr. Michael A. Ross

Dr. Michael Ross is a Virginia-based obstetrician and gynecologist who previously served on a CDC breast and cervical cancer advisory committee.

He is described as a “serial CEO and physician leader” in a bio page for Havencrest Capital Management, a private equity investment firm where he is an operating partner.

He recently started a position as the chief medical officer for the Maryland-based AI start-up Manta Pharma.

He is a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at George Washington University and Virginia Commonwealth University.

“He has advised major professional organizations, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and contributed to federal advocacy efforts around women’s health and preventive care. His continued service on biotech and healthcare boards reflects his commitment to advancing innovation in immunology, reproductive medicine, and public health,” Kennedy said.

With reporting from The Associated Press