SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – The South Dakota State Medical Association (SDSMA) is voicing strong opposition to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s recent removal of all members of the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), according to a news release.
Health Secretary RFK Jr. ousted every single member of the ACIP, a board that advises the Department of Health and Human Services on immunizations for the control of vaccine preventable diseases in the U.S. population.
Kennedy pledged to replace the terminated experts with his own picks.
“Without removing the current members, the current Trump administration would not have been able to appoint a majority of new members until 2028,” Kennedy wrote in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece.
South Dakota delegates of the American Medical Association (AMA) supported an emergency resolution that calls for immediate reversal of RFK Jr.’s decision to fire all of CDC’s vaccine advisors, and asks the U.S. Senate to investigate the dismissals.
The resolution passed less than 24 hours after the dismissals were announced, according to a press release.
Kennedy’s choice comes amid a drastic increase of measles outbreaks in the U.S., according to data reports from the CDC.
“The SDSMA is alarmed by the recent removal of all 17 ACIP members. The ACIP has been a
reliable national authority, offering science-backed guidance on immunizations to prevent disease,” SDSMA President Dr. Keith Hansen said in a news release.
“Their guidance is crucial for healthcare professionals, parents, and public health officials to protect some of our most vulnerable patients from serious, often life-threatening, illness. It is essential that the scientific process guiding vaccine policy remains firmly rooted in evidence based medicine,” Hansen said. “The dismissal of ACIP members jeopardizes this trusted process, threatening to worsen existing outbreaks and decrease immunization rates.”
