“CDC vaccine official resigns”
Dr. Lakshmi Panagiotakopoulos, a longtime figure in the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), resigned last Friday. In her resignation letter, obtained by ABC News, she wrote that her ability to serve vulnerable populations was no longer possible “in this role”—a clear signal of disagreement with the department’s recent shift in approach.
The resignation follows Secretary Kennedy’s May 22 announcement that COVID-19 vaccines would no longer be recommended on a blanket basis for healthy children and pregnant women. Instead, the new policy returns decision-making power to parents and doctors, emphasizing informed consent and personalized medical decisions.
Under Kennedy’s direction, the CDC updated its immunization schedule to reflect a “shared clinical decision-making” model—one that allows families and physicians to weigh the risks and benefits of COVID vaccination based on individual circumstances, rather than rigid one-size-fits-all mandates.
While some legacy medical institutions expressed concern over the change, Kennedy’s supporters praised the move as a long-overdue course correction. For years, public health policy has leaned heavily on top-down mandates, with limited transparency or space for dissent. This latest shift signals a return to patient autonomy and trust in the physician-patient relationship.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and other groups issued statements critical of the new model, calling it vague. However, critics of the old approach argue that prior guidelines often sidelined individual health factors and failed to account for growing public skepticism toward federal mandates issued without full transparency or debate.
Notably, the CDC had planned to meet later this month to revisit its COVID-19 vaccine recommendations. Yet Kennedy’s announcement preempted that process, reflecting what supporters describe as a commitment to action and a refusal to let bureaucratic inertia delay meaningful reform.
Organizations like the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) reiterated their support for COVID vaccines during pregnancy, but Kennedy’s office has emphasized that families deserve the right to review the evidence, consult their doctors, and make personal decisions without coercion.
Critics of the shift frame it as bypassing scientific consensus, but Kennedy’s allies argue the opposite—that true science demands open inquiry, constant re-evaluation, and respect for dissent. For many, the move marks a turning point in restoring credibility to a public health system that lost public trust during the pandemic.
Panagiotakopoulos’s resignation highlights the deep divisions within health agencies that are still adjusting to post-pandemic realities. But for RFK Jr., the message is clear: health policy should serve the people—not pharmaceutical interests or entrenched bureaucracies.
As the CDC’s advisory panel prepares to meet in the coming weeks, the national conversation is changing. Under Kennedy’s leadership, public health may be entering a new chapter—one defined not by top-down edicts, but by informed consent, transparency, and respect for the American family.