RFK Jr. fires entire 17-member CDC vaccine board. Here are the vaccines they recommended
- Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dismissed 17 members of a CDC vaccine advisory committee.
- Kennedy Jr. cited restoring public trust as the reason for the dismissals, despite his history of vaccine misinformation.
- Critics warn this move prioritizes ideology over science and could worsen disease outbreaks like measles.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime vaccine skeptic, fired all 17 members of a Centers of Disease Control and Prevention advisory committee of vaccine experts and said he will replace them with new members to restore "public trust" in his latest effort to overhaul American health agencies.
Critics say such a move puts ideology over science, will undermine the government's role in vaccine safety, and could lead to more deadly disease transmissions.
The Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices makes recommendations on the safety, efficacy, and clinical need of vaccines to the CDC. It is comprised of medical and public health experts who develop recommendations on the use of vaccines in the civilian population of the United States.
“Today we are prioritizing the restoration of public trust above any specific pro- or anti-vaccine agenda,” Kennedy Jr., who has a history of spreading misleading and controversial claims about vaccines, said on June 9 in announcing the overhaul. “The public must know that unbiased science — evaluated through a transparent process and insulated from conflicts of interest — guides the recommendations of our health agencies.”
Dr. Bruce Scott, president of the American Medical Association, warned that Kennedy Jr's work has undermined trust and "upends a transparent process that has saved countless lives."
"With an ongoing measles outbreak and routine child vaccination rates declining, this move will further fuel the spread of vaccine-preventable illnesses," he said.
As of June 5, a total of 1,168 confirmed measles cases were reported by 34 jurisdictions, including a child under four in Florida, and three people have died from it. The CDC said the deaths were the first from measles in the United States since 2015.
Kennedy Jr., when asked, has backed vaccination as a preventive tool during a measles outbreak but also said that vaccines should be left to parents' discretion.
“What I would say is my opinions about vaccines are irrelevant,” the health secretary said after being after being asked about the measles vaccine.
Trump administration reducing COVID vaccine recommendations
On May 27, Kennedy Jr. announced that the COVID-19 vaccine would no longer be included in the CDC's recommended immunization schedule for healthy children and pregnant women, a reversal of previous expert guidance.
As of June 10, pregnant women are still advised on the CDC website to stay current with COVID boosters, but where the CDC previously recommended COVID vaccines for everyone aged 6 months and older, the updated page now recommends them only for "most adults" aged 18 and older. Parents are instead urged to discuss vaccines for their children with their healthcare provider.
The CDC's advisory committee did not vote on this change, Paste BN reported, and did not appear in Kennedy Jr.'s social media video announcing it.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration leaders under Kennedy Jr. announced in May that the agency would stop recommending annual COVID-19 vaccines for anyone under the age of 65 without certain medical conditions.
What has RFK Jr. said about vaccines?
Kennedy, 71, a longtime environmental lawyer and founder of the anti-vaccine group Children's Health Defense, has for years promoted several widely discredited views such as Wi-Fi causes cancer, fluoride in public water systems causes bone cancer and IQ loss, and antidepressants are linked to school shootings.
He has also long spread false and misleading claims about vaccines, including the debunked claim that vaccines cause autism, that COVID-19 was “ethnically targeted” to attack “Caucasians and Black people” while sparing “Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese” people, and the measles vaccine caused a measles outbreak. One of his advisors previously petitioned the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to withdraw the polio vaccine.
Although he stopped short of recommending measles vaccines, as the outbreak spread Kennedy Jr. did urge parents to consider measles vaccination. However, the health secretary, who has no formal medical training, also recommended other methods of prevention and treatment such as vitamin A, cod liver oil and a healthy diet.
Public health officials and doctors have said there is no evidence to support the claims that such moves prevent or treat measles. The only proven method of preventing measles, at a rate of 97% efficacy, is vaccination, according to the CDC.
What vaccines are recommended for adults?
The adult vaccine list currently recommended by the CDC has not changed since before President Donald Trump took office, but other government websites have updated to fit the priorities of the Trump administration. Here's a list of the vaccines currently recommended by the CDC as of June 10, 2025.
The CDC recommends that everyone be up to date on these routine vaccines:
- COVID-19 vaccine and boosters
- Flu vaccine (influenza)
- Tdap vaccine (tetanus, diphtheria, and whooping cough) or Td vaccine (tetanus, diphtheria)
Other vaccines that adults may want to consider include:
- Chickenpox vaccine – recommended for all adults born in 1980 or later
- Hepatitis B vaccine – recommended for all adults up through 59 years of age, and for some adults 60 years of age and older with known risk factors
- HPV vaccine – recommended for all adults up through 26 years of age, and for some adults aged 27 through 45 years
- MMR vaccine (measles, mumps, and rubella) – recommended for all adults born in 1957 or later
Along with these, other vaccines are recommended for people in different situations.
What vaccines are recommended for pregnant people?
- Tdap vaccine — Get between 27 and 36 weeks of pregnancy to help protect your baby against whooping cough.
- Hepatitis B vaccine
Especially make sure you get the flu vaccine if you're pregnant during fly season, October through May.
What vaccines are recommended for healthcare workers?
Along with the routine ones, healthcare works also should get:
- Chickenpox vaccine (varicella)
- Hepatitis B vaccine
- Meningococcal vaccine – especially lab workers who work with Neisseria Meningitidis
- MMR vaccine
What vaccines are recommended for international travel?
Each country in the world has its own list of required vaccines, check when you make your plans. The CDC currently has a list here and note that measles cases are increasing across the globe. The World Health Organization also has a list of vaccines international travelers may want.
Talk to your healthcare provider and get any needed vaccines at least four to six weeks before your trip to help build up immunity. You can take the CDC quiz to get a list of vaccines you need based on your lifestyle, travel habits and other factors.
What vaccines are recommended for seniors?
- Chickenpox vaccine – recommended for all adults born in 1980 or later
- Hepatitis B vaccine – recommended for all adults up through 59 years of age, and for some adults 60 years of age and older with known risk factors
- HPV vaccine – recommended for all adults up through 26 years of age, and for some adults aged 27 through 45 years
- MMR vaccine – recommended for all adults born in 1957 or later
- Shingles vaccine – recommended for all adults 50 years of age and older
What vaccines are recommended for people with health conditions?
- Asplenia (without a functioning spleen): Hib vaccine (Haemophilus influenzae type b), Meningococcal vaccines – both MenACWY and MenB, Pneumococcal vaccine
- Diabetes, type 1 and type 2: Pneumococcal vaccine
- Heart disease, stroke or other cardiovascular diseases: Pneumococcal vaccine
- HIV infection: Hepatitis A vaccine, Hepatitis B vaccine, Meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MenACWY). Pneumococcal vaccine, Shingles vaccine. If your CD4 count is 200 or greater, you may also need Chickenpox vaccine and MMR vaccine
- Liver disease: Hepatitis A vaccine, Hepatitis B vaccine, Pneumococcal vaccine
- Lung disease (Including Asthma or COPD): Pneumococcal vaccine
- End-stage renal (kidney) disease: Hepatitis B vaccine, Pneumococcal vaccine
- Weakened immune system (excluding HIV infection): Hib vaccine, Pneumococcal vaccines, Meningococcal vaccines (MenACWY and MenB), Shingles vaccine
What vaccines are recommended for children?
- Birth: Hepatitis B vaccine (1st of 3), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine
- 1-2 months: DTaP vaccine (1st of 5), Hib vaccine (1st of 3 or 4), Hepatitis B vaccine (2nd of 3), IPV (for polio, 1st of 4), PCV (1st of 4), rotavirus vaccine (1st of 2 or 3)
- 4 months: DTaP vaccine (2nd of 5), Hib vaccine (2nd of 3 or 4), IPV (2nd of 4), PCV (2nd of 4), rotavirus vaccine (2nd of 2 or 3)
- 6 months: COVID-19 vaccine, DTaP vaccine (3rd of 5), Hepatitis B vaccine (3rd of 3), IPV (3rd of 4), Hib vaccine (3rd of 3 or 4), PCV (3rd of 4), rotavirus vaccine (3rd of 2 or 3)
- 7-11 months: Flu vaccine
- 12 -23 months: Chickenpox vaccine (1st of 2), DTaP vaccine (4th of 5), flu vaccine (every flu season), Hepatitis A vaccine (1st of 2), Hepatitis B vaccine (3rd of 3 between 6 months and 18 months), Hib vaccine (4th of 4), IPV (3rd of 4 between 6 months and 18 months), MMR vaccine (1st of 2), PCV (4th of 4).
- 2-3 years: Flu vaccine every flu season.
- 4-6 years: Chickenpox vaccine (2nd of 2), DTaP vaccine (5th of 5), Flu vaccine every flu season, IPV (4th of 4), MMR vaccine (2nd of 2).
- 7-10 years: Flu vaccine every flu season, good time to catch up on any missing vaccines.
- 11-12 years: Flu vaccine every flu season, HPV vaccine (2 doses), MenACWY vaccine (1st dose of 2), Tdap vaccine.
- 13-18 years: Flu vaccine every flu season, MenACWY vaccine (2nd dose of 2), MenB vaccine (2 doses), MenABCWY vaccine.
What vaccines does Florida require to attend school?
The state of Florida requires certain vaccines to be administered before children may enroll and attend childcare and school. According to the Florida Department of Health, the following vaccines are required, with age-appropriate doses:
Immunizations required for childcare and/or family daycare
- Diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis (DTaP)
- Inactivated polio vaccine (IPV)
- Measles-mumps-rubella (MMR)
- Varicella (chickenpox)
- Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib)
- Pneumococcal conjugate (PCV15/20)
- Hepatitis B (Hep B)
Public/non-public preschool entry
- DTaP
- IPV
- MMR
- Varicella
- Hib
- Pneumococcal conjugate (PCV15/20)
- Hepatitis B (Hep B)
Public/non-public schools kindergarten through 12th grade
- Four or five doses of DTaP
- Four or five doses of IPV
- Two doses of MMR
- Three doses of Hep B
- One Tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis (Tdap)
- Two doses of Varicella (kindergarten effective with 2008–2009 school year, then an additional grade is added each year thereafter). Varicella vaccine is not required if there is a history of varicella disease documented by the health care provider.
As of 2010, children entering, attending or transferring to the seventh grade in Florida schools must also complete one Tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis (Tdap).
Contributing: Mary Walrath-Holdridge and Eduardo Cuevas, Paste BN