The Path Forward for Vaccine Policy in the United States

For over 60 years, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which comprised a diverse group of nonpartisan specialists, has advised the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on vaccine recommendations based on science and intensive review of evidence. The abrupt dismantling of the rigorously vetted process and the replacement of the Committee with an inexperienced and biased panel has engendered fundamental distrust in the Committee’s vital work. The process of recommending vaccines in the United States has undergone a seismic disruption. The government has abruptly changed vaccine policy through social media postings and publications in news media. These actions circumvented the standard methodology, whereby committees of scientists and clinicians conduct rigorous scientific review and open deliberation to make vaccine recommendations, which are published with clear justification of the decision-making process. As the 17 voting members of the ACIP dismissed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services in June 2025, we consider paths forward for U.S. vaccine policy.