Cranbury, New Jersey - A group of prominent scientists recently created an autism advisory panel after Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. filled his own with vaccine conspiracy theorists.

On Wednesday, the American Journal of Managed Care shared an article announcing the launch of the Independent Autism Coordinating Committee, which aims to "preserve consensus-driven autism research priorities and counter potential drift toward debunked vaccine-autism narratives within federal advisory processes."

The committee will also be used to counter measures implemented by the federal Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC), an advisory body that helps shape the nation's autism research.

Back in January, Kennedy appointed 21 new members to the IACC, many of whom the independent committee says are "tied to debunked claims that vaccines cause autism."

Prior to President Donald Trump tapping him to head HHS, Kennedy had built a reputation as a prominent anti-vaccine advocate, who had long pushed the unfounded claim that vaccines cause autism.

Since landing the role, Kennedy, who promised not to attempt to outlaw vaccines during his confirmation hearing, has made sweeping changes to his agency's public recommendations and guidelines for receiving vaccines, which many critics have argued has created more confusion and distrust between patients and physicians.

Alison Singer, president of the Autism Science Foundation and a member of the new committee, said scientists felt "we needed to take real action to ensure continued progress in autism science."