WASHINGTO, DC — The Department of Health and Human Services announced on Wednesday the appointment of 21 new members to the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC).

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said the group will help advance ⁠research ‌and ‌improve care for autistic individuals.

Parents of autistic children are among the new members.

Many of the new members of the committee share a common trait. They have publicly expressed or belong to groups that have publicly expressed a belief in the claim that vaccines can cause autism.

The appointments drew criticism from former panel members and autism experts in the medical and scientific community.

“President Trump directed us to bring autism research into the 21st century,” Secretary Kennedy said of the new appointments. “We are doing that by appointing the most qualified experts—leaders with decades of experience studying, researching, and treating autism. These public servants will pursue rigorous science and deliver the answers Americans deserve.”

The new IACC members are: Daniel Rossignol, John Gilmore, Toby Rogers, Tracy Slepcevic, Walter Zahorodny, Bill Oldham, Honey Rinicella, Krystal Higgins, Ginger Taylor, Daniel Keely, Lisa Ackerman, Katie Sweeney, Caden Larson, Elizabeth Bonker, Lisa Wiederlight, Sylvia Fogel, John Rodakis, Elizabeth Mumper, Jennifer Philips, and Elena Monarch.