Dr. Robert Malone, a physician and biochemist who became the prominent public face of the CDC’s revamped Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), reportedly resigned from the role due to the drama that has escalated in recent weeks.
Malone’s departure from ACIP, reported by Roll Call and the New York Times, comes less than two weeks after a federal judge in Massachusetts dealt a major blow to the Robert F. Kennedy Jr.-led HHS vaccine program, invalidating recent changes to the CDC’s pediatric vaccine schedule and blocking multiple ACIP appointments overseen by Kennedy, including Malone.
The decision effectively prevents ACIP from holding a meeting scheduled for earlier this month for the time being.
Meanwhile, Malone caused confusion last week when he posted on social media that the ruling would cause ACIP to be “disbanded” and re-formed. He ultimately retracted those claims hours after he first posted them, citing a “miscommunication.”
Now, it appears that the media’s reaction to the episode, and HHS’s handling of the allegations, swayed Mr. Malone enough to force him to resign.
“I’m done with the CDC and ACIP because Andrew beat me to the press,” Malone said during Tuesday’s roll call, referring to HHS Deputy Assistant Secretary for Press Secretary Andrew Nixon.
He specifically appeared to take issue with HHS’ comments to multiple media outlets that said statements about ACIP’s future that did not come directly from the agency were “baseless speculation.”
“Given the court’s decision and the countless volunteer hours provided by ACIP members to improve public health, I can sympathize with his decision to resign,” Martin Kulldorff, former chair of the reorganized ACIP in the Kennedy administration and now chief scientific officer in HHS’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, said at the roll call for Malone’s resignation.
However, Malone told the New York Times, “If I am offered the opportunity to join the reactivated ACIP, I will respectfully decline it,” stressing that he did not make an “impulsive decision” to resign.
When asked for comment on this development, HHS pointed Fierce to Kulldorff’s comments during roll call.
Meanwhile, with Malone stepping down and the current committee’s future on hold, the White House is reportedly trying to distance itself from the sensitive vaccine issue ahead of the U.S. midterm elections later this year. This dynamic appears to be creating a rift between parts of RFK Jr.’s “Make America Health Again” movement and the Trump administration as a whole.
Aside from last summer’s controversial firing of a former sitting ACIP member, the CDC, led by RFK Jr., notably ignored routine recommendations for six pediatric vaccines earlier this year, prompting widespread outrage from the medical community.
The change in recommendations is among recent vaccination moves put on hold by a federal judge in Boston earlier this month.
