RFK Jr. adds two new members to influential vaccine committee

Madison Muller and Jessica Nix, Bloomberg News on Feb 27, 2026

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U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has tapped two new members for an influential vaccine committee that’s responsible for guiding the nation’s immunization policy.

The Department of Health and Human Services announced on Friday night that Sean Downing, an internal medicine doctor in Florida, and Angelina Farella, a pediatrician in Texas, would join the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

The group is responsible for considering which immunizations should be recommended for U.S. children and adults, and helps determine insurance coverage for the shots. It’s recently come under intense scrutiny as Kennedy seeks to overhaul U.S. vaccine policy.

“Dr. Downing and Dr. Farella bring decades of real-world experience caring for children, adults, and families — and that frontline perspective is essential to making recommendations that are grounded in gold-standard science and worthy of public trust,” Kennedy said in a statement.

ACIP was expected to meet in February at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters in Atlanta, but the meeting was delayed to mid-March amid a legal spat over its validity. The group is slated to discuss COVID-19 vaccine injuries and long COVID, according to a federal notice posted this week.

On social media, Farella has posted about her opposition to the COVID-19 vaccine and questioned its safety.

Last summer, Kennedy fired all 17 members of the panel, replacing them with several vaccine skeptics. Since then, he’s added more members to the committee, including two OB-GYNs in January.

Kennedy’s overhaul has led to recent legal drama over whether his recasting of the committee and subsequent changes to the childhood vaccine schedule were within his legal capacity. Top medical groups and 15 states have filed separate suits over the issue.