Who are the 5 new members on the CDC vaccine advisory committee?

By HPN Staff

Five new members have been appointed to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC)  Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). The appointments were announced by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Monday, September 15, and are added to the seven appointed last June following the removal of all 17 Biden-appointed members of the panel by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 

The ACIP is tasked with reviewing scientific research on vaccines and immunology and making recommendations to the CDC regarding vaccine use.

The new appointments came just days before the panel was scheduled to meet to consider recommendations for COVID vaccines and several childhood vaccines, including MMR.  

Why it matters

Secretary Kennedy, known for his long-time skepticism of vaccines, has faced criticism over his replacement of the ACIP members, including from former panel members and several national medical groups. They have expressed concerns that the secretary is stacking the advisory panel with fellow doubters who lack the required expertise.

However, officials within the Department say that the new appointees bring a much-needed fresh perspective and unbiased scientific rigor to the influential panel. Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services and Acting Director of the CDC Jim O’Neill said that “the new ACIP members bring a wealth of real-world public health experience to the job of making immunization recommendations.”

• Catherine M. Stein, Ph.D., is an epidemiologist and professor at the Department of Population & Quantitative Health, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, whose two decades of research include the genetic and environmental susceptibility to tuberculosis. She is the author of more than 115 peer-reviewed publications and teaches epidemiology, genetic epidemiology, and biostatistics methods.
• Evelyn Griffin, M.D., is a board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist at the Baton Rouge General Hospital in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Dr. Griffin is also board-certified in lifestyle medicine and functional medicine. She is experienced in robotic gynecologic surgery and water birth and has a special interest in nutritional sciences and lifestyle medicine. 
• Hillary Blackburn, PharmD, M.B.A., is a clinically trained pharmacist, director of Medication Access and Affordability at AscensionRx in St. Louis, Missouri. She previously served as chief pharmacy officer at the Dispensary of Hope, overseeing formulary and research strategy. She is host of the Talk to Your Pharmacist podcast and author of How Pharmacists Lead.
• Kirk Milhoan, M.D., Ph.D., Milhoan is a pediatric cardiologist and former U.S. Air Force flight surgeon, and serves as medical director of For Hearts and Souls Free Medical Clinic in Kihei, Hawaii, which he co-founded as an international mission organization for children with congenital heart disease. He holds a Ph.D. in the mechanisms of myocardial inflammation.
• Raymond Pollak, M.D., F.A.C.S., F.R.C.S. is a surgeon, transplant immunobiologist, and transplant specialist who has published more than 120 peer-reviewed works and served as principal investigator on NIH transplant biology grants and numerous drug trials. He previously served as chief of Liver Transplantation and director of Multiorgan Transplant programs at the University of Illinois and has held leadership roles with the United Network for Organ Sharing and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons.

The bigger picture

The HHS said in a statement that “these appointments reflect the commitment of Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to transparency, evidence-based science, and diverse expertise in guiding the nation’s immunization policies.”

Secretary Kennedy was quoted in the statement saying “(ACIP’s) new members bring diverse expertise that strengthens the committee and ensures it fulfills its mission with transparency, independence, and gold-standard science.”