Vaccines are one of the most successful public health tools in human history. In Wyoming and across the nation, they have prevented countless hospitalizations, permanent disabilities and early deaths. As pediatricians, we see firsthand every day how vaccination protects children and their families. That’s why we are deeply concerned by recent developments at the federal level that risk undermining public trust in this life-saving work.
Opinion
Recently, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced the mass dismissal of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the independent panel of scientists and clinicians that reviews vaccine safety and makes recommendations. His rationale centered on vague claims that the committee has failed to exercise proper oversight due to alleged conflicts of interest.
Let us be clear: Questioning science is healthy. But discarding experts and casting suspicion on decades of transparent, peer-reviewed work — without providing meaningful evidence of wrongdoing — does not rebuild trust. It erodes it.
The facts tell a very different story.
ACIP’s meetings are open to the public, webcast live, and archived online with detailed agendas and minutes available for anyone to review. Anyone can attend, watch or submit public comment.
Meeting materials and livestreams are available at https://www.cdc.gov/acip/meetings.
When Secretary Kennedy criticizes ACIP for “never rejecting a vaccine,” he overlooks the committee’s actual role. The panel only reviews vaccines after the FDA has completed its rigorous approval process. Its recommendations focus on whether the vaccine should be added to the U.S. immunization schedule based on safety, efficacy, cost-effectiveness and population health impact. If a safety signal emerges post-approval — as happened with the Rotashield vaccine in the late 1990s — ACIP will update or withdraw recommendations accordingly. That’s not rubber-stamping; that’s scientific vigilance in action.
Concerns about conflict of interest have been raised in the past — most notably in a 2000 congressional report and 2009 Inspector General review. In response, reforms were implemented: ACIP members must now publicly disclose financial interests, complete annual ethics training and recuse themselves from discussions involving potential conflicts. The CDC posts each member’s financial disclosure on its website and assigns ethics officials to review them. These processes are not just guidelines — they are legal and structural safeguards designed to preserve integrity.
Do we believe these systems can be continually improved? Absolutely. But we also believe in defending institutions that, when operating transparently and with integrity, serve the public good.
Casting doubt without evidence does not reform — it destabilizes.
The current ACIP vaccination schedule is the product of decades of rigorous scientific research and real-world evidence. It is carefully designed to protect children and communities from serious, potentially life-threatening diseases at the ages when they are most vulnerable. Each vaccine on the schedule has undergone extensive safety testing and continuous monitoring, and the schedule itself is regularly reviewed and updated to reflect the best available data. The result is one of the safest and most effective public health tools we have, responsible for saving millions of lives and dramatically reducing rates of once-common childhood illnesses.
Wyoming families know the stakes. We continue to see measles and pertussis outbreaks resurface where vaccine rates fall. As pediatricians, we’ve cared for infants too young to be vaccinated, relying on the immunity of their community to protect them. We’ve seen firsthand the protection that vaccines offer to Wyoming families and children and the consequences when that protection is missed.
This isn’t about politics. It’s about protecting kids, preserving science-based medicine and continuing to earn the trust of families through humility, transparency and fact.
We empathize with parents and guardians who feel torn between competing messages in our modern media landscape. Wyoming’s pediatricians will always listen. We will always answer your questions. And we will always stand up for the tools that keep our children safe.
Signed,
Dr. Michael Sanderson, M.D., F.A.A.P., President
Dr. Danae Stampfli, M.D., F.A.A.P., Vice President
Dr. Louisa Mook, M.D., F.A.A.P., Treasurer
Dr. Kelly Follett, M.D., F.A.A.P., Member At Large
Dr. Andrew Rose, M.D., F.A.A.P., Past President
Want to blame someone for the vaccine skepticism that has exploded in the past 5 years?
Blame Government and Big Pharma’s pushing of the Covid “vaccine” on children.
Wyoming/Idaho/Montana had ZERO deaths from covid in children 0-17 years of age.
The data shows children in good health simply did not need that vaccine, yet it was pushed to the point of adding it to the “recommended schedule”.
Why was it added to the recommended schedule???
Possibly this is the reason.
Vaccine manufacturers are generally shielded from liability in the United States, primarily through the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986.
Call him crazy, brain worm, whatever else you want to. RFK Jr.’s message gets traction because there are many aspects of Big Pharma/Government “cooperation” that are highly suspect.
Thank you all for the truth, and your willingness to speak it on behalf of the children.
It’s all part of the ‘dumbing down’ and destruction of America. I’ve never seen so many stupid people. Educate yourselves and ignore anything out of the Trump White House and his dysfunctional minions.