Columbus Public Health Commissioner Dr. Mysheika Roberts was one of the 17 members dismissed Monday from the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Following the announcement about the dismissals, Dr. Roberts released the following statement:
“As health commissioner and a physician, I am deeply concerned that the entire 17 member Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices was dismissed. For more than 60 years, this panel of experts, including physicians, immunologists, virologists, and epidemiologists, have followed the science to provide vaccine recommendations and guidance to the CDC – a trusted source for pediatricians and parents alike."
Dr. Roberts also said in the statement, "This decision will create confusion and sow additional mistrust in the experts - and very vaccines - that protect the health and safety of children, families and our entire community.”
Dr. Roberts was appointed to the CDC Advisory Committee at the end of 2024 and was scheduled to begin her term in July.
She has been with Columbus Public Health since 2006, and was named health commissioner in 2017.