SDSMA responds to the termination of CDC immunization advisory committee members

June 11, 2025

The SDSMA is voicing strong opposition to HHS Secretary RFK Jr.’s recent removal of all members of the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). South Dakota’s delegates to the American Medical Association, currently in Chicago attending the AMA’s Annual meeting, supported an emergency AMA resolution that calls for immediate reversal of the decision that removed all of CDC’s vaccine advisors and asks the U.S. Senate to investigate the dismissals. The resolution, which passed less than 24 hours after the announcement of the dismissals, also states that the AMA will "initiate sustained public advocacy" in support of the current ACIP structure, including its liaison representatives, and to "identify and evaluate alternative evidence-based vaccine advisory structures and invest resources in such initiatives, as necessary."

The AMA Annual Meeting, held each June, brings together physicians across the nation to engage in discussions and formulate policies to enhance public health and uphold sound medical policy at the federal and local levels. SDSMA President Keith Hansen, MD issued the following statement to SDSMA members and to the media:

“The SDSMA is alarmed by the recent removal of all 17 ACIP members. The ACIP has been a reliable national authority, offering science-backed guidance on immunizations to prevent disease. Their guidance is crucial for healthcare professionals, parents, and public health officials to protect some of our most vulnerable patients from serious, often life-threatening, illness. It is essential that the scientific process guiding vaccine policy remains firmly rooted in evidence-based medicine. The dismissal of ACIP members jeopardizes this trusted process, threatening to worsen existing outbreaks and decrease immunization rates."