HHS Rescinds its New ACIP Charter Plan

According to a news report in The Hill, HHS has decided to withdraw its plan to revise the charter for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) ACIP. In a notice that is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register, HHS withdrew its proposed amendment to change the charter, citing administrative error. According to the reporting, the CDC didn’t provide the appropriate amount of time for public comment before issuing the new charter.¹

As such, the previous, existing charter that was in place will remain the same.

Back in April, the HHS developed a new charter that was published in the Federal Register, which significantly revised the types of medical specialties that ACIP members could represent on the committee. “Balance of specialty areas (eg, biostatistics, toxicology, immunology, epidemiology, pediatrics, internal medicine, family medicine, nursing, consumer issues, state and local health department perspective, academic perspective, public health perspective, etc),” as written in the Federal Register. This was a marked departure away from the previous charter and noticeable absent was infectious disease and vaccinology.

In response to this charter change, more than 130 organizations released a statement condemning the revised charter.

In part, the statement read: “The 130+ undersigned medical, nursing, public health, and patient advocacy groups express our deep concern about the revised charter for the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) published on April 9. The new charter substantively changes the focus of the committee and its membership structure, which could undermine confidence in vaccines and ultimately affect access to immunizations.

ACIP was established to provide evidence-based guidance on the use of immunizations to prevent diseases, but the revised charter paves the way for an unqualified committee to promote misleading narratives about vaccine safety. For decades, the committee held transparent discussions about vaccines based on patterns of disease, clinical trial and real-world data on efficacy and safety, and cost and implementation considerations. The new charter downplays the value of immunizations for both communities and individuals.”²

In a recent interview with Contagion, Robert H. Hopkins Jr, MD, medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID), said that if the charter were changed, it would have completely overhauled what it has done traditionally.

“This new charter changes the focus of the committee from one that evaluates new vaccines, reviews vaccines as preventable disease epidemiology, [and] talks about disease and safe implementation of vaccines to protect the American public…to what seems to be one focused on minimizing vaccine confidence and the public's perception of value.” Hopkins said.

References
1.Choi J. HHS withdraws amended vaccine advisory panel charter. The Hill. May 18. 2026. May 19. 2026.
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5883776-acip-charter-amendment-error/?tbref=hp

2.More than 130 organizations express alarm over proposed changes to CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices charter. Press release. American College of Physicians. April 28, 2026. Accessed April 28, 2026. https://www.acponline.org/acp-newsroom/more-than-130-organizations-express-alarm-over-proposed-changes-to-cdcs-advisory-committee-on