Among the eight people Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced would make up his new group of outside vaccine advisers to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are an emergency physician who posted Islamophobic commentary on social media and two doctors who were paid to provide expert testimony in trials against a vaccine maker.

The new members include well-known vaccine skeptics and others who have been critical of Covid vaccines or pandemic interventions like lockdowns.

Some public health experts have expressed optimism that RFK Jr.'s picks to lead the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices might decrease vaccine hesitancy.