Were These the 17 Members RFK Jr. Just Removed From the CDC Vaccine Panel?
CDC website scrubbed—but archived version reveals likely identities.
When Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced the total removal of all 17 voting members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), one question went unanswered in the mainstream press: Who exactly were these people?
It’s worth repeating that U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data show 2,669,318 adverse events, including hospitalizations and deaths, have been linked to vaccines since 1990, but if fewer than 1% of adverse events are reported—as a 2010 HHS-funded Harvard analysis confirms—the real number could be closer to 267 million.
No major outlet identified the members Kennedy called “a rubber stamp for any vaccine”—not even The Wall Street Journal, which published his op-ed.
But an archived April 2025 CDC roster obtained by this outlet may offer a complete list of those removed.
Here they are:
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1. Dr. Helen Keipp Talbot
Chair
Professor of Medicine, Vanderbilt University
Term: 3/5/2024 – 6/30/2025
Specializes in respiratory infections and vaccine safety in older adults. Co-leads the Tennessee Emerging Infections Program.
Per CDC:
“As a dual appointee in Medicine and Health Policy, Dr. Talbot has played a pivotal role in the evaluation of viral respiratory diseases in adults and the evaluation of new and existing vaccines in older adults so as to improve immunization policy and vaccine development. Her goal is to continue to evaluate the use and effectiveness of vaccines, with a focus on prevention of infection and morbidity in adults. Dr. Talbot began her career by investigating the presentation of influenza in hospitalized adults. Her recent work has contributed to our understanding of the epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus. Dr. Talbot currently co-leads the Tennessee Emerging Infections Program at Vanderbilt, which works to better understand viral respiratory disease epidemiology and inform vaccine policy.”
2. Dr. Edwin Jose Asturias
Professor of Pediatrics and Infectious Disease Epidemiology, University of Colorado
Term: 7/1/2024 – 6/30/2028
Served on WHO’s Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety. Focused on vaccines for underserved communities.
Per CDC:
“Dr. Edwin Asturias is a tenured professor of pediatric infectious disease and epidemiology at the University of Colorado with expertise in global health and infectious diseases. Dr. Asturias has had a notable track record in advancing research on vaccine-preventable diseases and improving healthcare delivery in underserved regions. His work has focused on vaccine introduction strategies and vaccine safety. He has served in several national and international committees including the World Health Organization Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety. His research has advanced policies on vaccines to eradicate poliomyelitis and introduce vaccines for indigenous communities in the Americas.”
3. Dr. Noel T. Brewer
Gillings Distinguished Professor in Public Health, University of North Carolina
Term: 7/1/2024 – 6/30/2028
Behavioral scientist who studies vaccine uptake and developed the “Announcement Approach” for HPV vaccine communication.
Per CDC:
“Dr. Brewer is a behavioral scientist who studies vaccination, tobacco cessation, and other health behaviors. His research examines why people get vaccinated, improving patient communication, and other interventions to improve coverage. Dr. Brewer has advised on HPV vaccination for the President's Cancer Panel under Presidents Obama and Trump and to the Biden Cancer initiative. He has advised CDC, WHO and other organizations on assessing the behavioral and social drivers of vaccine uptake. Dr. Brewer developed the Announcement Approach Training to make HPV vaccination communication more effective, which has been recognized by the National Cancer Institute and is used nationally.”
4. Dr. Oliver Brooks
Chief Medical Officer, Watts HealthCare Corp
Term: 7/26/2021 – 6/30/2025
Past president of the National Medical Association. Co-chaired California’s COVID-19 Vaccine Work Group.
Per CDC:
“Dr. Brooks is Chief Medical Officer at Watts Healthcare Corporation in Los Angeles, California. He is a past president of the National Medical Association (NMA), and past president of the California Immunization Coalition. He was co-chair of the California COVID-19 Vaccine Work Group, which determined allocation of the COVID-19 vaccine in the state, and had worked for more than 15 years in various leadership roles focusing on disparities in vaccine coverage rates.”
5. Dr. Lin H. Chen
Director, Mount Auburn Travel Medicine Center, Harvard Medical School
Term: 7/1/2024 – 6/30/2028
Past president of the International Society of Travel Medicine. Contributor to CDC’s Health Information for International Travel.
Per CDC:
“Dr. Chen is Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Travel Medicine Center at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in Beth Israel Lahey Health. She is a Past President of the International Society of Travel Medicine, an organization with worldwide experts on vaccines. She has collaborated closely with the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene and other organizations on scientific and educational programs, including many vaccination topics. She has served on past ACIP work groups and is section editor/author of the CDC Health Information for International Travel.”
6. Dr. Helen Y. Chu
Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology, University of Washington
Term: 7/1/2024 – 6/30/2028
Specialist in clinical trials for flu, RSV, and COVID-19 vaccines. Member of multiple NIH and CDC working groups.
Per CDC:
“Dr. Chu is a board-certified infectious disease physician and Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at the University of Washington. She studies respiratory viruses and vaccines, and has conducted large-scale community surveillance studies and clinical trials of influenza, SARS-CoV-2, and respiratory syncytial virus vaccines and therapeutics in both domestic and international settings. She is a member of multiple NIH, CDC, and international expert working groups on respiratory viruses and vaccines.”
7. Dr. Sybil Cineas
Associate Professor, Brown University
Term: 9/28/2021 – 6/30/2025
Internal medicine and pediatrics. Prominent educator in vaccine promotion and clinical practice.
Per CDC:
“Dr. Cineas is dual board certified in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics and serves as the Associate Program Director for the Brown Combined Internal Medicine-Pediatrics Residency Program. In addition to servings as a primary care provider for patients of all ages, she is highly involved in the training of residents and medical students. She has 20+ years of experience teaching about and promoting vaccination in the clinical setting.”
8. Dr. Denise J. Jamieson
Dean, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa
Term: 3/4/2024 – 6/30/2027
Former CDC officer. Expert in vaccines during pregnancy. Member of National Academy of Medicine.
Per CDC:
“Dr. Jamieson is the Vice President for Medical Affairs, Dean of the Carver College of Medicine, and Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Iowa. Her scientific work has focused on emerging infections and vaccines in pregnancy. She retired from the U.S. Public Health Service in 2017 after 20 years of service at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). She is a member of the National Academy of Medicine.”
9. Dr. Mini Kamboj
Professor, Weill Cornell Medical College / Sloan Kettering
Term: 7/1/2024 – 6/30/2028
Chief medical epidemiologist for cancer patients. Co-chaired ASCO’s vaccine guideline panel.
Per CDC:
“Dr. Kamboj is a board-certified infectious disease physician and Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College, Cornell University. She is also the Chief Medical epidemiologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. Her research interests and clinical practice focus on improving immunization approaches for people undergoing treatment for cancer, hematopoietic stem cell transplant, and other immunocompromising conditions. She has served as the co-chair of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) vaccine guideline panel and the American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy (ASTCT) guideline member for COVID-19 and other vaccine-preventable illnesses.”
10. Dr. George A. Kuchel
Director, UConn Center on Aging
Term: 7/1/2024 – 6/30/2028
Specialist in geriatric immunology and altered vaccine responses in older adults.
Per CDC:
“Dr. Kuchel is a Geriatrician, Professor of Medicine, Travelers Chair in Geriatrics and Gerontology, and Director of the UConn Center on Aging at UConn Health in Farmington, CT. His work focuses on Precision Gerontology and Geroscience. This effort seeks to enhance function and independence in older adults in part by targeting the heterogeneity of altered immune responses to influenza, pneumococcal and SARS-CoV-2 vaccines with aging. Dr Kuchel leads the UConn NIA-funded Claude D Pepper Older Americans Independence Center, the NIA Geroscience Education and Training Network, and the KAPP-Sen NIH Cellular Senescence Tissue Mapping Center, while also serving as MPI of the NIA Translational Geroscience Network.”
11. Dr. Jamie Loehr
Owner, Cayuga Family Medicine
Term: 7/26/2021 – 6/30/2025
Practicing family physician for 30+ years. ACIP influenza working group member for a decade.
Per CDC:
“Dr. Loehr has practiced as a family physician in Rochester and Ithaca, NY, for over 30 years, counseling patients every day on the benefits of vaccines. He served as the AAFP liaison to the ACIP for four years and has been a member of the ACIP influenza working group for over 10 years.”
12. Karyn Lyons, MS, RN
Chief, Immunization Section, Illinois Dept. of Public Health
Term: 12/20/2024 – 6/30/2028
State immunization coordinator. Served on ACIP’s Meningococcal Workgroup.
Per CDC:
“Ms. Lyons is the Chief of the Immunization Section at the Illinois Department of Public Health, a position she has held since 2021. She has worked in the public health immunization field since 2005, dedicating her career to advancing immunization efforts. Ms. Lyons has served on the ACIP Meningococcal Workgroup on behalf of the Association of Immunization Managers.”
13. Dr. Yvonne “Bonnie” Maldonado
Stanford University School of Medicine
Term: 3/4/2024 – 6/30/2027
Leads Gates-funded vaccine effectiveness studies. Former chair of AAP’s Committee on Infectious Diseases.
Per CDC:
“Dr. Maldonado is a pediatric infectious diseases clinician, researcher and epidemiologist. She has led several NIH, CDC, Gates Foundation and WHO funded pediatric vaccine effectiveness studies in the US, India, Mexico and Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as studies of the prevention and treatment of perinatal HIV infection. She has served on several national and international committees in the area of pediatrics, vaccines and infectious diseases, including as former chair of the Committee on Infectious Diseases of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Dr. Maldonado has also devoted substantial effort to teaching, training, and mentoring activities in Global Child Health, Infectious Diseases and Epidemiology in the national and international setting.”
14. Charlotte A. Moser, MS
Co-Director, Vaccine Education Center, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Term: 7/1/2024 – 6/30/2028
Developed CDC-aligned parent vaccine education materials. Contributor to vaccine science outreach programs.
Per CDC:
“Ms. Moser has extensively published in scientific journals on the topics of immunology and virology. Through her research, Ms. Moser has contributed to our understanding of how vaccines prevent infections of the intestinal tract. She has also developed a novel method to enhance immune responses to vaccines. As co-director of the Vaccine Education Center, Ms. Moser has developed a variety of educational materials about vaccines, created the Parents PACK program for parents, and co-created the Vaccine Update and Vax Pack Hero programs.”
15. Dr. Robert Schechter
Chief, Immunization Branch, California Department of Public Health
Term: 3/6/2024 – 6/30/2027
State immunization official. Participated in ACIP workgroups on COVID-19 and influenza.
Per CDC:
“Dr. Schechter is Chief of the California Department of Public Health Immunization Branch, where he has worked for over 20 years. He has served on the National Vaccine Advisory Committee and on ACIP workgroups reviewing COVID-19, influenza, and other vaccines.”
16. Dr. Albert C. Shaw
Professor of Medicine, Yale School of Medicine
Term: 3/4/2024 – 6/30/2027
Studies age-related changes in vaccine response. NIH-funded researcher in immune senescence.
Per CDC:
“Dr. Shaw is Professor of Medicine in the Section of Infectious Diseases at the Yale School of Medicine. He is an infectious diseases physician who is also an expert on changes in immune system function in older adults. His laboratory research seeks to understanding mechanisms underlying age-related chronic inflammation, circadian regulation of the immune response, and altered responses to vaccination.”
17. Dr. Jane R. Zucker
Adjunct Professor, SUNY Downstate School of Public Health
Term: 12/23/2024 – 6/30/2028
Internist and medical epidemiologist. Over three decades in immunization program implementation.
Per CDC:
“Dr. Jane R. Zucker is an infectious diseases trained internist and medical epidemiologist. She has dedicated her 34+ year career to public health working in local, federal, and international settings. Her expertise is in implementation and management of immunization programs, use of immunization information system data to improve immunization coverage, and vaccine-preventable diseases outbreak control and emergency preparedness.”
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“Dr. Brewer developed the Announcement Approach Training to make HPV vaccination communication more effective, which has been recognized by the National Cancer Institute and is used nationally.”
Is that like the “A Christmas Story” announcement approach?
“What brought you to this lowly state?”
“It was….soap poisoning”
Dr Brewer came up with the script for the tv ads that tell you if you dont get this vaccine for your tween daughters they will die of uterine cancer.
I remain skeptical. What will be the replacement?