Congresswoman Schrier Leads New Democrat Coalition Members in Urging CDC’s Vaccine Advisory Panel to Recommit to Protecting Scientific Integrity, Public Health Ahead of Pivotal December Meeting

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Kim Schrier, M.D. (WA-08) led 29 of her colleagues in the New Democrat Coalition on a letter demanding that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) take immediate action to restore the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ (ACIP) role as a trusted, evidence-driven authority and ensure that future vaccine recommendations uphold scientific integrity. The letter comes ahead of a pivotal early December meeting where the committee is expected to vote to weaken long-standing recommendations on Hepatitis B vaccinations.

For months, HHS Secretary RFK. Jr. and his handpicked ACIP have displayed dangerous and incompetent behavior. They continue to sow distrust in vaccines. In June, ACIP established a working group to reevaluate the entire childhood immunization schedule. In September, the panel had a chaotic meeting in which members presented baseless medical conspiracy theories and were confused about the effects of their votes and the general processes of the committee. These reckless actions by ACIP come on top of the Trump Administration's canceling of nearly $500 million in funding for mRNA vaccine development research.

“Patients, parents, and health care providers deserve clear, evidence-based guidance they can trust. Instead, ACIP experts have been replaced with unvetted and unqualified vaccine skeptics whose recent actions have fueled confusion, undermined public confidence in vaccines, and threatened the health of all Americans. The panel’s departure from using sound, reliable data, opting instead to cherry-pick selective “studies” in forming its guidance, poses a serious risk to public health,” the letter states. 

The letter continues, “To recommit to its role as a trusted, evidence-driven authority and to ensure that future vaccine recommendations uphold scientific integrity and public confidence, we respectfully urge that the CDC: 

● Reinstate all 17 ACIP members that were fired without justification on June 9th, 2025, ensuring that any new members are properly vetted for conflicts of interest and are committed to upholding scientific integrity.

● Recommit to transparency and scientific rigor in the ACIP process by providing adequate notice of agenda items, ensuring full participation of CDC experts and liaison representatives in working groups and public meeting discussions, and continuing to utilize standardized methodologies such as GRADE. 

● Provide clear, evidence-based communication to both health care providers and the public regarding the recently accepted ACIP recommendations, to support informed decision-making and maintain public trust in the CDC as the nation’s leading authority on public health guidance.”

Click here to read Congresswoman Schrier’s full letter.