The wife of Dr. Kirk Milhoan, newly appointed chair of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, says he was dismissed from his pediatric cardiology practice because of his ACIP role. She wrote on Substack that the practice cited an "overwhelming number of calls" demanding his removal after a disputed ACIP vote to limit routine newborn hepatitis B vaccination. Milhoan is listed as medical director of a free clinic and affiliated with Christus Health; the employer's confirmation was not immediately available.
CDC Vaccine Panel Chair Says He Was Fired From Pediatric Practice Over ACIP Role, Wife Says
The wife of the physician recently named chair of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) says he was dismissed from his pediatric cardiology practice because of his role on the committee.
In a Substack post titled 'Irony,' Kimberly Milhoan wrote that she and her husband, Dr. Kirk Milhoan, learned of the dismissal while attending the World Congress of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery in Hong Kong. According to her post, the practice informed them the decision stemmed solely from his service as ACIP chair.
'While here, we found out he was being dismissed from his current practice of pediatric cardiology solely because of his service as Chair of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice (ACIP) of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC),' Kimberly Milhoan wrote. 'He disclosed to his employer when he accepted the appointment to this committee, and then again when he accepted the role of chairman.'
Dr. Milhoan was appointed ACIP chair shortly before the committee voted to limit a routine newborn hepatitis B birth dose recommendation to infants born to mothers who test positive for hepatitis B. That policy change drew criticism from major medical organizations, including the American Medical Association and the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
Kimberly Milhoan said the practice received an "overwhelming number of calls" demanding her husband's removal after the controversial vote, and that those calls precipitated his dismissal. In her post she emphasized that her husband has been a vaccine advocate throughout his career: he has acknowledged vaccine risks, respected patient autonomy and informed consent, and generally recommended vaccination when he judged benefits to outweigh risks.
Affiliations and Status
ACIP's publicly available roster lists Kirk Milhoan as medical director of the For Hearts and Souls Free Medical Clinic, which he operates with his wife. The roster also shows an affiliation with Christus Health in Irving, Texas, where he is listed in the pediatric cardiology department.
The Hill reported it contacted Christus Health seeking confirmation of the reported termination; that request was not immediately confirmed in the public record at the time of the report.
Note: The details above reflect statements made by Kimberly Milhoan and reporting from The Hill. The reported reason for dismissal is based on those statements and has not been independently confirmed by the employer in public sources cited by the article.
