Three of the appointees have previously questioned aspects of COVID-19 response and vaccines<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By I. Edwards HealthDay Reporter<\/b>
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TUESDAY, Sept. 16, 2025 (HealthDay News) \u2014 Five new members have been appointed to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\u2019s (CDC) vaccine advisory committee, federal health officials announced.<\/p>\n
The move comes just days before the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) meets to review vaccines for COVID-19<\/a> and several other diseases.<\/p>\n The new members are:<\/p>\n Catherine Stein<\/a><\/strong>, an epidemiologist and professor at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Dr. Evelyn Griffin<\/a><\/strong>, an obstetrician-gynecologist from Baton Rouge<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Hillary Blackburn<\/a><\/strong>, director of medication access and affordability at AscensionRx in St. Louis<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Dr. Kirk Milhoan<\/a><\/strong>, a pediatric cardiologist at For Hearts and Souls Free Medical Clinic in Hawaii<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Dr. Raymond Pollak<\/a><\/strong>, an Illinois surgeon and transplant immunobiologist<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr<\/a>. has said he plans to appoint as many as seven new members. <\/p>\n In June, Kennedy removed all 17 members of the panel, claiming it had \u201cpersistent conflicts of interest,\u201d though no evidence was provided, CNN<\/em> said.<\/p>\n Some of the new appointees have expressed skepticism about the nation\u2019s COVID-19 response or the vaccines in general. For example, Stein co-authored a paper critical of pandemic models, while Griffin spoke at a 2024 event questioning vaccine requirements. <\/p>\n Milhoan, meanwhile, spoke at a panel last year, suggesting a link between COVID shots and heart problems, even though fact checkers have said his interpretation of the data was incorrect.<\/p>\n Pollak previously acted as a whistleblower in a University of Illinois at Chicago case involving corrupt transplant practices.<\/p>\n The next ACIP meeting is set for Sept. 18 and 19. The panel is expected to discuss vaccines for COVID-19, hepatitis B, measles<\/a>, mumps, rubella, varicella (chickenpox) and RSV<\/a>.<\/p>\n More information<\/strong><\/p>\n Learn more about the role of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n