OBGYN Group Withdraws From CDC Vaccine Panel

The group is objecting to the remaking of the committee and the removal of its experts from committee workgroups.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters in Atlanta on May 21, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

A group of obstetricians and gynecologists on Feb. 24 said it is withdrawing from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory panel, in part because officials removed the organization’s experts from workgroups that delve into issues and present to the committee.

The American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists, or ACOG, said it will no longer be involved with ACIP, the committee of experts that advises the CDC on vaccines.

ACOG pointed in part to how officials with the CDC and its parent agency, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), updated the CDC’s childhood vaccine schedule without consulting the committee.

“ACOG has always been committed to evidence-based medicine and to the health and safety of our patients. For decades, we have proudly participated in ACIP to ensure that vaccine recommendations are grounded in rigorous scientific evidence and protect the health of pregnant women, children, and families,” Dr. Steven J. Fleischman, ACOG’s president, said in a statement.

“The recent reconstitution of the committee; the removal of ACOG experts from ACIP workgroups; and HHS’ unilateral changes to vaccine recommendations, which bypassed established scientific and clinical processes, represent a fundamental departure from the scientific rigor and impartiality that have been the hallmark of this committee for 60 years.”

He added later that “ACOG’s withdrawal from ACIP is not a withdrawal from our commitment to advancing vaccine science or to protecting patients’ health and safety; rather, it reflects an unwavering dedication to ensuring that clinical recommendations for immunizations are based solely on the best available scientific evidence.”

Rich Danker, assistant secretary for public affairs at HHS, told The Epoch Times via email that the move was “political grandstanding from an organization overly reliant on Big Pharma for funding.”

ACOG accepts money from vaccine companies and reported receiving more than $100,000 from GlaxoSmithKline and more than $20,000 from CSL Seqirus in 2024 and 2025. The group said on Tuesday that its experts who served on workgroups were vetted for conflicts of interest.

Retsef Levi, a member of ACIP, told The Epoch Times in an email that it was unfortunate that ACOG was disengaging from the committee and launching what he said were unsubstantiated attacks against it.

“I wish that they would be able to explain more concretely to what ACIP’s recommendations they object,” he said.

For years, experts with ACOG and other organizations worked together with CDC advisers in workgroups to review various issues. They would formulate summaries of the data and present those to the full committee.

In August 2025, health officials informed the organizations they were being removed from the workgroups because they were either suing the government or had conflicts of interest, such as receiving money from vaccine manufacturers.

“We are fulfilling our promise to the American people to never again allow those conflicts to taint vaccine recommendations,” an HHS spokesman told The Epoch Times at the time.

Retsef Levi, a risk management and health systems expert and professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan School of Management, in New York City on Oct. 26, 2022. The Epoch Times

ACOG recommends influenza and COVID-19 vaccination, as well as immunization against tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (Tdap), for all pregnant women. It also says certain women should receive a respiratory syncytial virus during pregnancy, and, depending on other factors, may be advised to receive additional shots.

The CDC adult vaccine schedule says that pregnant women should receive a Tdap vaccine and, unless they received one recently, an influenza shot. Women can take a COVID-19 vaccine after consulting with a doctor, according to the schedule.

The CDC used to recommend COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy.

The American Academy of Pediatrics, which also takes money from vaccine manufacturers, is among the organizations that previously withdrew from ACIP in protest of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. replacing the committee’s members.

The academy and other groups sued Kennedy and the CDC in 2025 over that and other moves. ACOG filed an amicus brief in the case.

A federal judge is considering blocking the updated CDC vaccine schedule and Kennedy’s revamping of the panel, but has not yet issued a ruling.

A February meeting of ACIP, meanwhile, that was canceled has been rescheduled to March 18–19. No agenda has been posted, and officials have not responded to requests for comment about what will be discussed during the meeting.