Federal vaccine panel in disarray after judge blocks changes
Source: CNN Health
PUBLISHED Mar 19, 2026, 10:32 PM ET
The future of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s panel of vaccine advisers is unclear, even among its recently appointed members.On Monday, a federal judge temporarily blocked the US Department of Health and Human Services’ overhaul of the vaccine schedule and ruled that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s decision to replace the CDC’s panel of independent vaccine experts in June did not follow federal legal procedures.
The ruling has left confusion in its wake. The panel, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices or ACIP, canceled its planned meeting this week. Over several social media posts on Thursday, one of the members appointed by Kennedy, Dr. Robert Malone, said that the government will “disband and then recreate a new ACIP committee.”
Hours later, Malone posted that information he had shared was a “miscommunication, and in fact the decision about how to proceed has not been made, and dissolving and reforming remains one of options being considered.” A spokesperson for the Independent Medical Alliance told CNN that ACIP chair Dr. Kirk Milhoan, a former senior fellow with the group, was not available for comment but had also been told by an HHS official that the committee had been disbanded.
Another ACIP member, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told CNN that HHS may intend to repopulate the committee with new members, which may be a faster route than waiting out legal appeals. As part of this week’s decision, the judge also suspended the votes the committee has taken, and there are some pressing issues that may need to be acted on, the person said.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/19/health/cdc-acip-judge-changes