In Context: How a 2018 vaccine committee meeting video was misleadingly edited

After Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced he was removing all members of a key federal vaccine committee, conservative social media accounts said they had video showing why the move was merited.

"Today, Kennedy removed all 17 members of the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel (ACIP)," X account Being Libertarian wrote in a June 9 post that included the video. "Here they are in action in case you were wondering why."

The 2-minute-34-second video showed 50 seconds of back-and-forth questions about "adjuvanted vaccines" that ended without many provided answers, as someone called for a vote. The committee then unanimously voted "yes" to recommend the vaccine, according to the clip. (Adjuvants are ingredients in some vaccines that help create stronger immune responses when people get vaccinated, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.)

Text in the video’s upper corner said it showed a February 2018 meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP. ACIP is an independent body that provides vaccine recommendations that the CDC director reviews and decides whether to formally adopt.

"ACIP meeting in 2018," Calley Means, one of Kennedy’s top advisers, wrote June 10 on X, sharing a shorter version of the same video. "I can’t believe this is real."

But the video was deceptively edited to remove over 15 minutes of additional questions, answers and public comments before the committee unanimously voted to adopt the recommendation. And no one captured in the video was a member of the committee when Kennedy announced sitting members’ removal. 

Kennedy’s 20 years of work in the antivaccine movement raised concerns among scientists and medical professionals. On June 11, Kennedy announced that he’d appointed eight new committee members, including a promoter of antivaccine falsehoods. 

In 2018 the vaccine committee voted to recommend a hepatitis B vaccine after presentation, discussion and questions

During a Feb. 21, 2018, meeting, members of the advisory committee discussed and later voted on recommendations for the hepatitis B vaccine, HEPLISAV-B. 

The full video from the meeting on hepatitis vaccines painted a different picture from the truncated version shared on X. ACIP voting members asked questions following Dr. Sarah Schillie’s roughly 10-minute presentation on hepatitis B and existing vaccines, the HEPLISAV-B vaccine and the proposed vaccine recommendations. 

The video shared on X picked up the meeting about five minutes into that open question window, when Dr. Emmanuel "Chip" Walter asked about adjuvanted vaccines, or vaccines that include ingredients designed to trigger stronger immune responses in vaccinated people.  

"With the number of adjuvanted vaccines now available, including a flu vaccine and Shingrix, is there any comment on using this vaccine at the same time with other adjuvanted vaccines?" Walter asked. 

Schillie responded: "We have no data to make a recommendation one way or the other."

Dr. Amanda Cohn, ACIP’s executive secretary, said that although preclinical trials hadn’t been conducted on simultaneous use of adjuvanted hepatitis B vaccines and other adjuvanted vaccines, "our general approach to immunizations is that they can be given at the same time in different limbs."

Dr. Paul Hunter then asked if multiple adjuvanted vaccines were used in Europe or other markets. Someone referred to only as "Dr. Ward" responded, "Not to my knowledge." 

In the edited version of the video shared on X, the overall discussion appeared to last roughly one minute before committee Chair Dr. Nancy Bennett said it was time to vote on the vaccine recommendation. 

That cut omitted another four minutes of questions.

For example, one committee member asked if the plan was for the committee to provide different recommendations for populations at higher risk for hepatitis B; Schillie said yes, that might be a future consideration.

Another member asked whether the vaccine manufacturer had provided data on how people of different races and ethnicities responded to the vaccine. Schillie said the Food and Drug Administration had initially expressed concern about lack of diversity in the vaccine’s trials, but the manufacturer had taken steps to address that concern. 

After the questions, Dr. José Romero moved for the committee to accept a HEPLISAV-B hepatitis B vaccine recommendation. About 10 minutes of public comment followed, before the committee voted unanimously to approve the recommendation. 

The 2-minute-34-second video circulated on X was edited to remove roughly 16 minutes of additional questions, answers and public comment before the members voted and shared some post-vote comments, including Dr. David Stephens expressing a reservation about the use of a new adjuvant and encouraging careful scrutiny of the data after the vaccine is in use.

The CDC’s vaccine committee typically makes its recommendations after the FDA approves or authorizes a new vaccine. In this case, the FDA approved the HEPLISAV-B vaccine Nov. 9, 2017, based on data from trials involving nearly 10,000 adult vaccine recipients. 

Additionally, no one shown in the X video was a committee member by the time Kennedy announced the June 9 dismissals, according to the CDC’s website. 

According to the CDC’s archived site, committee terms for the members who appeared in the video, including Bennett, Romero and Dr. Laura Riley, ended in June 2018. Walter and Stephens’ terms ended in 2019; and Hunter and Dr. Grace Lee’s terms ended in 2020. All seven were appointed prior to Trump’s first term. Cohn also wasn’t listed as the committee’s secretary as of June 30, 2024. 

The video circulating on X leaves an inaccurate impression of  a vaccine committee’s vote to recommend a hepatitis B vaccine and does not depict members Kennedy removed. 

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