Kennedy last week announced he would “retire” the entire panel that guides U.S. vaccine policy. He also quietly removed Dr. Melinda Wharton — the veteran Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official who coordinated the committee's meetings.

Paul Offit knows vaccines. A trained doctor, he spent 26 years working in pediatric infectious disease and studying the rotaviruses before ultimately creating the strain that became the RotaTeq vaccine.

RFK Jr. ousted the entire vaccine advisory panel, prompting backlash from experts who warned his abrupt decisions and controversial appointments could endanger U.S. immunization efforts and increase preventable disease outbreaks.