In a clear rebuke to US health secretary and zealous anti-vaccine advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the American Academy of Pediatrics on Tuesday released its own evidence-based vaccination schedule for children—a task typically left to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and its trusted advisory committee.

The AAP has been among the most assertive medical groups to push back on the anti-vaccine tactics and actions Kennedy has undertaken as the country’s top health official. Those include spreading misinformation about lifesaving vaccines; firing all 17 esteemed CDC vaccine advisors under the false pretense that they had disqualifying conflicts of interest; replacing those advisors with unqualified committee members who share Kennedy’s anti-vaccine views; and unilaterally restricting access to COVID-19 vaccines without any evidence-based explanation.

Prior to the release of the vaccine schedule, the AAP boycotted the first meeting of Kennedy’s hand-selected CDC vaccine advisors in June, saying the committee’s work is “no longer a credible process.” In July, the organization filed a lawsuit—alongside other medical groups— against the US health department over Kennedy’s changes to the federal COVID-19 vaccine recommendations.

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