Conflicts of Interest Among Federal Vaccine Advisors at Historic Lows Through 2024

Conflicts of interest among members of key federal vaccine advisory committees—the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and the FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC)—have declined to historically low levels leading up to 20241 3.

According to research published in JAMA and conducted by USC, only 6.2% of ACIP members and 1.9% of VRBPAC members disclosed any financial conflict of interest at meetings between 2016 and 20241.

Conflicts peaked at 42.8% for ACIP members in 2000 but dropped to single digits and remained low for almost a decade before 20241 3.

Fewer than 1% of conflicts involved personal income from vaccine makers (such as consulting fees, stock, or royalties), which are considered particularly significant1 3.

A searchable digital database of ACIP conflict-of-interest disclosures (2000-2024) was launched in March 2025 to increase transparency following concerns about public trust2 4.

Current evidence indicates little presence of major conflicts of interest among recent ACIP and VRBPAC members5.

Actions taken by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., including dismissing all ACIP members in June 2025, were based on claimed concerns about conflicts, but newly published data suggests those claims were not supported by the recent record1 3 5.