Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. named eight new members to the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices on Wednesday, including several anti-vaccine proponents, after dismissing all 17 existing advisers.

The new members include well-known vaccine skeptics and others who have been critical of Covid vaccines or pandemic interventions like lockdowns.

A fired committee member who served on the panel since July 2024 said the decision to fire him and his colleagues came from "out of the blue."