Advisory

• HHS and CMS announced new members for the Healthcare Advisory Committee on March 27, 2026, to enhance patient care and modernize U.S. healthcare. • Committee focuses on policy recommendations for efficiency, innovation, and better outcomes nationwide. • Initiative aims to address systemic challenges amid evolving public health needs.

• President Donald Trump named prominent tech figures like Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, Nvidia chief Jensen Huang, AMD CEO Lisa Su, and investor Marc Andreessen to his President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) on March 25, 2026. • The council, co-chaired by AI/crypto advisor David Sacks and science/technology assistant Michael Kratsios, typically has 24 members but currently lists 13, including two women: Safra Catz and Lisa Su. • PCAST, established since 1990 and originating under FDR, provides advisory reports on topics like quantum computing, pandemics, and energy without regulatory power; the current iteration ends in ten months unless extended.

• A federal judge on Monday blocked HHS from implementing vaccine policy changes made by RFK Jr.'s revamped CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), reversing all recent decisions. • The ruling leaves unresolved the status of the RSV vaccine for infants, potentially making it no longer free for children who need it, as its inclusion was authorized by the current advisers. • Public health experts are scrambling to understand ramifications, with health groups concerned about unintended harms and weakened vaccination recommendations for hepatitis B and COVID-19.

• Trump 2.0 policies terminated or overhauled HHS advisory committees, including ACIP with all members replaced in January 2026 by RFK Jr., leading to weakened hepatitis B and COVID-19 vaccine recommendations. • NIH advisory councils have not met, with the director's committee disbanded for over a year; USPSTF has not met since March 2025. • Senator Murray criticized leadership for prohibiting NIH grant processes; new ACIP includes controversial figures like an Alzheimer's patient from the withdrawn aducanumab trial.