Dr. Kirk Milhoan — the newly installed chair of the vaccine advisory panel that moved to scale back infant hepatitis B vaccination guidelines — has reportedly been fired from his pediatric cardiology practice because of the committee's position.
The source of the report is his wife, Dr. Kimberly Milhoan.
In a Substack post titled "Irony" published Thursday, Kimberly Milhoan said her husband was fired "solely because of his service as Chair of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices," which makes recommendations on vaccines to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
She did not name the practice, but public records list Kirk Milhoan as a pediatric cardiologist with Christus Health in Irving, Texas.
"Those who broke the news to him apologized profusely, commending his integrity," Kimberly Milhoan wrote. "Why did they fire him?
"Because of the overwhelming number of calls to their organization demanding his firing for his role on ACIP."
"The court of public opinion is dictating to a medical organization who can be on their staff, and they are bowing to it. It is a staggering turn of events," she wrote.
Kirk Milhoan took over as ACIP chair just before the committee moved to scrap the universal newborn-dose recommendation for the hepatitis B vaccine, restricting it to infants whose mothers test positive for the virus.
Kimberly Milhoan said the move was particularly ironic because her husband has been a strong supporter of vaccines throughout his career.
"He never denied risk, and respected principles of autonomy and informed consent, but believed, and recommended, that in most cases the benefit outweighed the risk associated with vaccines," she wrote.
But she also wrote that her husband hates "to be wrong."
"If he's wrong about something, he wants to be corrected as soon as possible. Others so value being right that they will ignore evidence that will force them to admit they've been wrong," she wrote.
His commitment to following the science, she said, led him to a different conclusion on the hepatitis B newborn dose.
She said the committee didn't find sufficient evidence proving the newborn dose was free of potential harm, nor did it find solid evidence that delaying the shot would be harmful.
The panel "only recommended a newborn dose to infants of mothers who are Hepatitis B positive (or whose status is unknown)," she wrote.
And for that decision, she said, he was fired.
"My husband has been fired because of public outrage that he would choose to participate in scientific medical debate ... and make recommendations based on the best available evidence, even if that required a modification of previous practice, in support of principles of medical ethics," she wrote.
"For some powerful segment of the population, there appears to be consensus that some topics or conclusions are off-limits and they can pressure to harm careers and livelihoods of those with the courage and integrity to investigate whether the science is truly settled.
"The irony is they are trying to destroy the career of someone who was on their side, but willing to re-examine the evidence," she added.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.