Key facts
- Robert Malone, an anti-vaccine activist, resigned from the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
- Malone stated a spat with HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon was the "last straw" for his departure.
- A federal judge had previously blocked Kennedy's ACIP appointments, including Malone's.
Robert Malone, an anti-vaccine activist and ally of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., resigned from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) on Tuesday. Malone stated that a dispute with HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon, who had publicly commented on Malone's retraction of a previous claim about the committee's status, was the "last straw." Malone had initially claimed the ACIP was being disbanded, but later retracted this as a miscommunication. Nixon's response, stating that such assertions were baseless speculation, prompted Malone's resignation. HHS Assistant Secretary Rich Danker and former ACIP Chair Martin Kulldorff confirmed Malone's departure and defended Nixon's actions.