RFK Jr. taps vaccine critics for federal autism advisory panel
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Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., during a January roundtable on rural health at the White House. Photo: Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. completed an overhaul of the federal committee that advises the government on autism policy by appointing several well-known vaccine critics.
Why it matters: Adding anti-vaccine figures could give Kennedy cover to push for more studies and other actions that promote the widely debunked claim that vaccines may cause autism.
State of play: Among 21 new members are John Gilmore, executive director of the Autism Action Network, which advocates against vaccine mandates, and Toby Rogers, a fellow at the Brownstone Institute for Social and Economic Research, per a Wednesday announcement.
- Rogers has written for the Children's Health Defense, an anti-vaccine group founded by Kennedy. He testified at a House hearing in September that chronic disease epidemics "are primarily caused by toxicants — mostly from vaccines."
- Walter Zahorodny, a psychologist who has already spoken publicly with Kennedy about autism research, will serve as a public member of the committee.
- Four people affiliated with the Medical Academy of Pediatrics and Special Needs, a professional group focused on integrative and functional health care, were also selected.
- Additionally, Kennedy appointed three new members with autism.
Committee recommendations are nonbinding, but shape autism research and programs.
What they're saying: "These public servants will pursue rigorous science and deliver the answers Americans deserve," Kennedy said in a statement announcing the nominations.
Context: The interagency committee was created by Congress in 2000 to coordinate Health and Human Services efforts around autism.
- Its charter requires members from the general public to include at least three people who are diagnosed with autism, three who are parents or guardians of people with autism and three from the research or advocacy community.
- Federal officials from across government agencies also sit on the panel.
- The committee held its most recent public meeting on Jan. 14, 2025, just days before the Trump administration took office. The terms of those who served on the committee at that time have since expired.
- A meeting of the new panel will be announced soon, HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon told Axios.
Between the lines: The committee held an orientation for new members last week, prior to the public announcement, Stat reported.
- Autism researchers and self-advocates previously affiliated with the committee told Stat that they were concerned about the lack of transparency around the panel's future.
