California Medical Association President Shannon Udovic-Constant, M.D., issued the following statement regarding Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s decision to remove all members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices:

“Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s decision to remove all 17 members of the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel is reckless, anti-science, and deeply harmful to public trust. These experts are independent, rigorously vetted, and play a critical role in protecting our communities from vaccine-preventable diseases.

As a pediatrician, I believe my patients – and patients across the country – deserve to live without fear of harm from vaccine-preventable illnesses. This decision jeopardizes that fundamental expectation of safety.

This move is part of a dangerous effort to undermine the institutions that safeguard our health. We are already seeing the consequences of vaccine misinformation, with preventable diseases like measles seeing a resurgence across the country. Public health should never be sacrificed to political theater.”