Health Department Loosens Requirements for CDC Vaccine Advisory Committee

Officials also expanded the panel’s mission, in the wake of a federal court ruling.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in Washington on Jan. 29, 2026. Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on April 6 loosened the required expertise for members of an important vaccine advisory panel, after a federal judge blocked changes to the panel made by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The health secretary, who selects members for the panel—called the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)—must appoint members with the necessary expertise, officials said in a notice regarding the committee’s charter. They wrote that the secretary will consider candidates representing a “balance of specialty areas,” including biostatistics, toxicology, immunology, pediatrics, nursing, and “consumer issues.”