US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has appointed eight new people to the committee that issues official government recommendations on immunisations, days after removing all 17 previous members.
According to BBC, in an announcement on X, Kennedy, a vaccine sceptic, said reconstituting the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (Acip) was a "major step towards restoring public trust in vaccines".
Kennedy said the new members "have each committed to demanding definitive safety and efficacy data before making any new vaccine recommendations."
Health experts have criticised his questioning of the safety and efficacy of vaccines, although he previously told the Senate he is "not going to take them away".
Kennedy named the new members as Joseph R Hibbeln, Martin Kulldorff, Retsef Levi, Robert W Malone, Cody Meissner, James Pagano, Vicky Pebsworth and Michael A Ross to the committee.
Some of new members are close allies of Kennedy and have histories of vaccine scepticism.
Dr Malone was accused of spreading misinformation about the mRNA vaccines during the pandemic, while Dr Kulldorf claimed he was fired from his position at Harvard university for criticising the university's Covid-19 requirements.
Kennedy praised the new members in his announcement, saying this slate includes "highly credentialed scientists, leading public-health experts, and some of America's most accomplished physicians", he said in his post.
"All of these individuals are committed to evidence-based medicine, gold-standard science, and common sense," the health secretary added.
However, critics and former members said the board adhered to rigorous conflict of interest and ethical standards.
