Washington — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday said he is removing every member of a government panel that makes vaccine recommendations.

Kennedy said he is "retiring" all 17 members of the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices, asserting that it "has become little more than a rubber stamp for any vaccine."

"A clean sweep is needed to re-establish public confidence in vaccine science," Kennedy wrote in an opinion piece published by the Wall Street Journal.

Kennedy's move was quickly rebuked by a number of doctors groups. A statement released by the American Medical Association said it "upends a transparent process that has saved countless lives." The American Academy of Pediatrics called it part of an "escalating effort by the Administra

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