Jason M. Goldman, MD, MACP, immediate past president of the American College of Physicians, offers insights on what the changing Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices charter means and legal steps the college is taking to prevent the federal government’s attempt to reshape the group and vaccine policy in the US.
This is part of a short series with leaders of medical professional organizations to gain insights about the ramifications of the revised charter as well as commentary about the federal government’s suppression of COVID-19 vaccine data.
The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr has been trying to remake US vaccine policy, restricting access to immunizations. Most notably, he has done this by firing all previous Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) members and replacing them with new members who have antivaccine views. The ACIP has been making recommendations to confuse the public on vaccine guidance, change previous recommendations, and plant seeds of doubt about vaccine utility.
Last summer, in response to the ACIP’s actions, the American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Physicians (ACP), and other professional medical organizations filed a lawsuit against Secretary Kennedy for “acting arbitrarily and capriciously when he unilaterally changed COVID-19 vaccine recommendations for children and pregnant people.”1
This past March, a US district court in Massachusetts sided with the professional medical organizations and blocked the federal government from implementing a series of vaccine-related policy decisions made over the past year by HHS leadership. By pausing those decisions, the court effectively prevented the ACIP from holding a scheduled meeting that month.
In response to that, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a significantly revised ACIP charter earlier this month. In opposition to this charter change, the ACP was one of more than 130 organizations that issued a statement:
“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.
The 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
To read the entire statement, interested parties can go
“The secretary has now completely changed the charter into something that would allow him to put on individuals who do not have the right qualifications, add liaisons who are decidedly antivaccine advocates, and change the very function of the committee from something that should be evidence-based recommendation guidelines to help us most appropriately use vaccines,” said Jason M. Goldman, MD, MACP, immediate past president of the ACP. “Unfortunately, this completely undermines our public health infrastructure, and the American College of Physicians spoke up—as we have been doing from the beginning—to make sure that patient safety is protected, public health is protected, and that we have the best evidence-based recommendations.”
As to the question of whether Kennedy can legally do this, it appears he is within his authority. However, Goldman says there are bills in Congress looking to address the charter changes.
“One of them is to codify the advisory committee under a congressional statute to prevent any one individual from arbitrarily changing the charter,” said Goldman. “I would ask members of Congress to look at that…to be able to make sure that we have safe and effective vaccines and that we have a committee that cannot be altered by any one ideology but is focused on science and protected by congressional statute.”
July 2025: The AAP, ACP, and other medical professional organizations file a lawsuit against Kennedy.
March 2026: A federal judge strikes down the current administration's vaccine policies.
April 2026: The CDC significantly revises the ACIP charter. More than 130 organizations take part in releasing a statement condemning the revised charter.
Another important responsibility for medical professional organizations is the role they play as liaisons during ACIP meetings. Goldman has held several advisory and liaison roles related to vaccine policy. Since 2018, he has been actively involved as the ACP’s liaison to the ACIP and as a member of CDC committees and work groups, including the Pneumococcal Vaccines Work Group, the Immunization Committee, the Adult Vaccine Access Coalition, and the COVID-19 Vaccine Measure Expert Work Group.3
Check out the second installment of the interview with Goldman:
“We do not know the current status of the liaisons, which are all the member organizations that offer technical expertise [and] real-world, boots-on-the-ground experience with vaccines to help the advisory committee make the best informed decisions,” Goldman said.
The legal wranglings between the medical organizations and the federal government will not let up anytime soon, and it remains to be seen what vaccine policy decisions will look like this year and beyond. No matter what actions the federal government takes, these professional societies will be answering the bell every time to allow vaccine access to all Americans.
“Speaking out against this inappropriately written charter is just part of our advocacy to make sure that our patients in the practice of medicine are protected.”
The ACP has developed clinical guidelines around vaccines. To learn more, go
