BATON ROUGE — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. removed every member of a scientific committee that advises the CDC on vaccines on Monday, and now some scientists and physicians are worried about the lasting impact the decision could have on treating patients. 

According to a statement from the Department of Health, the Biden administration appointed all 17 members of the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices, which makes recommendations to the CDC about vaccines. Kennedy said the members had too many conflicts of interest and would replace them in the next two weeks. 

Charlotte Hollman, a retired pediatric neurologist, says she’s concerned about who the picks could be. 

“We need scientists who know about vaccines to continue to advocate for vaccines,” Hollman said. "The issue for people from Baton Rouge is we don't want these diseases to appear again, these infectious diseases that we have had good control of." 

In a statement, the Department of Health said it wants the new members to prioritize public health and not function as a rubber stamp for “industry profit-taking agendas”.

Jennifer Herricks, a public health advocate who doesn’t support the change, says she wants science, not politics, to guide public health decisions. 

At the national level, Kennedy says the clean sweep will reassure people and give more confidence to vaccines, but locally, doctors are worried about how the change could affect them delivering care. 

“I would like them to keep the members of this committee,” Holloman said. “These were good people. These were people who knew a lot about vaccines. There was nothing wrong with their advice on vaccines. They've studied this for years, and they're a high-quality group of people, and to have them no longer be involved, we are going backward.”

Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, who cast the deciding vote on RFK Jr.’s appointment, said he would speak to Kennedy about the new panel members.