An upcoming meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) scheduled for February 25-27, 2026, will not be held, according to Reuters.¹ The news outlet also reports that no new dates have been announced for the meeting to be rescheduled, making it unclear whether the meeting is cancelled or simply postponed.

An HHS spokesperson who spoke with the news outlet simply said that information would be made public when it was available.

Is this connected to recent shake ups at HHS?

The news comes on the heels of leadership changes at the Department of Human Health and Services. As previously reported, multiple leadership changes occurred earlier this week when it was announced that deputy secretary Jim O’Neill and general counsel Mike Stuart would be stepping from their roles. According to reports, they are expected to accept other roles in the Trump administration.

Chris Klomp will serve as chief counselor, while also staying in his current CMS role. In a statement to Politico, Secretary Kennedy wrote, “Kyle Diamantas, deputy commissioner for human foods at the Food and Drug Administration, and Grace Graham, the agency’s deputy commissioner for policy, legislation and international affairs, will also serve as senior counselors while keeping their current roles.”

It’s unclear if these shakeups are connected to the cancellation of the ACIP meeting, although the timing would suggest a connection. Over the past year, the committee has played an important in shaping key healthcare decisions related to public vaccine policy.

In October of last year, the CDC announced changes to its recommendation for the COVID-19 vaccine, stating that its new guidance was that patients should use a shared-decision making process with a healthcare professional before receiving the vaccine.

The announcement came after ACIP voted unanimously in September to make the change to the COVID-19 guidance.

At the time of the CDC’s announcement, CDC Director Jim O’Neill said in a statement, “Informed consent is back. CDC's 2022 blanket recommendation for perpetual COVID-19 boosters deterred health care providers from talking about the risks and benefits of vaccination for the individual patient or parent. That changes today.”

While ACIP has existed prior to the current administration, HHS Secretary Kennedy fired the previous members and replaced them with advisors chosen by him. While Secretary Kennedy denies being anti-vax, he has been outspoken about a variety of vaccines, including the COVID-19 vaccine.

However, this has not prevented drama from making its way into the committee. Earlier this month, reports surfaced of a growing rift amongst members of ACIP. The apparent disagreements reportedly center on COVID-19 vaccines and whether they should be allowed to stay on the market.

ACIP vice chair has even publicly accused FDA Commissioner Marty Makary of blocking or stalling efforts to pull the vaccines off the market. According to reports from that time period, ACIP members expected to discuss COVID vaccines at length at the since-cancelled meeting originally scheduled for late-February.

However, Malone has made comments that suggest that if he can’t convince FDA to act against the vaccines sufficiently, there are other options. It is unclear which options he was referring to.

Adding to the confusion, the controversy surrounding ACIP’s supposed anti-vaccine shift has caused certain groups to stop following CDC guidance. In January of this year, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released its updated vaccine guidance, which remained true to previous, pre-Kennedy vaccine guidance. According to reports, many states and pediatricians are choosing to following AAP’s guidance over CDC’s. According to one doctor interviewed on the subject, the reason is because most doctors feel that science hasn’t changed, just the politics.

Sources

1. Exclusive: Meeting of US CDC Vaccine Advisors Will Not Be Held in February. Reuters. February 19, 2026. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/meeting-us-cdc-vaccine-advisers-will-not-be-held-february-2026-02-19/