All articles tagged with #vaccine policy
New letters obtained by the Guardian and AP show RFK Jr. aimed to study Samoa’s MMR vaccine in 2019, contradicting his Senate testimony that the trip was unrelated to vaccines. The revelation ties his visit to the Samoa measles outbreak and anti-vaccine activity around CHD, and could complicate his confirmation and future scrutiny, though he was not under oath.
Health Secretary RFK Jr. is proposing a potential reclassification of how vaccines are recommended in the U.S., via a new Request for Information that asks whether the current three categories—routine/universal, risk-based, and shared clinical decision-making (SCDM)—should be renamed or replaced with options like “recommended with qualification” or “shared clinical decision-making with qualification.” The public comment period runs through Sept. 20. While Kennedy has signaled changes, no rules have been adopted yet, and past attempts to alter vaccine guidance have faced legal hurdles; the RFI appears to be part of a broader effort to reassess how strong the evidence and individual circumstances are reflected in vaccine recommendations.
The HHS issued a Federal Register notice inviting 30 days of public comments on the current vaccine recommendation categories (routine, risk-based, shared clinical decision-making) and whether new categories should be added, a move critics say could sow confusion and limit access if CDC/ACIP oversight is bypassed; experts warn the effort may reflect broader Trump-era pushes to pare back vaccine guidance and raise questions about how evidence is evaluated. Public vaccine mandates remain state/local.
A new information request from President Trump and Health Secretary RFK Jr. invites 30 days of public comment on potential changes to U.S. vaccine policy, signaling a push to revise the current framework (universal, risk-based, and shared clinical-decision-making categories) without implementing changes yet, while the CDC reiterates vaccines’ safety and effectiveness.
CDC data for 2025–2026 show a small decline in kindergarten vaccination coverage, with MMR, DTaP, polio, and varicella rates down in more than half the states; about 280,000 kindergartners lack documentation of completing the two-dose MMR and roughly 155,000 exemptions exist (24 states exceed 5%), while state MMR coverage ranges from 75.2% in Idaho to 98.9% in West Virginia. Officials warn that even small declines can threaten herd immunity, in a context of a Trump administration push to loosen vaccine scheduling and school-entry requirements that could face legal challenges.
Michael Hiltzik denounces President Trump’s executive order to overhaul childhood vaccines, reducing the recommended schedule, pushing for separate MMR vaccines, and encouraging exemptions, arguing the plan is scientifically flawed, impractical, and likely to confuse parents and raise costs. He notes that states and health professionals are unlikely to follow federal directions, and experts say bundled vaccines are safer and more efficient, making this a dangerous public-health misstep.
FactCheck.org notes that during the Aug. 10 signing of an executive order on vaccines, Trump and RFK Jr. repeated a string of false or misleading claims—ranging from alleging the U.S. requires 72 injections to linking vaccines with autism, and advocating breaking up combination vaccines—while critics say the move to shrink the routine schedule from 17 to 11 diseases would place the U.S. at the low end among peers, court rulings have blocked similar changes, and medical experts emphasize that vaccines are safe and the current schedule should not be altered.
NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya praised vaccinating children against measles as admirable on Fox News while defending President Trump’s executive order to shrink universally recommended vaccines from 18 to 11 and move toward three separate MMR shots, a shift experts warn could leave children vulnerable longer; the context includes CDC data showing 2,465 measles cases and 38 outbreaks in 2026, and Bhattacharya’s view that the change would increase trust between parents and the government.
Trump’s executive order would cut the recommended childhood vaccine schedule from 18 to 11 vaccines, push to space out or split up vaccines, and increase emphasis on parental choice, a move doctors say could cause confusion and lower vaccination rates. In practice, major vaccine types and the CDC schedule are not expected to change soon, insurers say they will continue covering CDC-recommended vaccines, and the Vaccines for Children program would remain funded. The order faces legal and logistical hurdles, including scrutiny of vaccine ingredients and the feasibility of separating combination vaccines into individual shots, with experts warning it could undermine public health and spark outbreaks unless processed through established advisory and court channels.
At a White House event, Trump conceded there is no evidence backing his claim that the MMR vaccine is lethal while unveiling a sweeping overhaul of federal childhood vaccine recommendations (the so‑called Gold Standard plan) to split the MMR into separate shots; medical experts say the single MMR shot is safe and dividing it could leave children vulnerable longer.
A flu outbreak at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas sickened more than 200 airmen and trainees, prompting vaccination efforts after the Pentagon ended the annual flu vaccine mandate; the base sought exemptions to mandate vaccines, but has begun vaccinating and isolating affected personnel, with medical teams treating patients with antivirals like Tamiflu and monitoring close contacts to protect readiness.
A Washington Post investigation shows RFK Jr.’s vaccine-skeptic allies are quietly retooling the federal vaccine ecosystem by pursuing a revived vaccine advisory panel, creating a CDC Office of Science, and directing vaccine-safety research to study schedules and potential links to conditions like autism. The effort aims to embed his agenda within NIH, FDA, and CDC decision-making, while the White House pushes to reduce childhood vaccines and a court blocks some changes. The moves suggest Kennedy’s influence could shape vaccine policy long after public controversies.
US insurers will continue covering routine vaccines through 2027, signaling industry belief in vaccines’ safety and cost-effectiveness even as the Trump administration revisits immunization schedules amid measles and pertussis outbreaks and ongoing disputes over ACIP changes.
The Trump administration is vetting Norman Sharpless, a former director of the National Cancer Institute and former acting FDA chief, to lead the FDA, signaling a move away from Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s vaccine-policy agenda toward more conventional leadership ahead of the midterms. Sharpless has criticized certain FDA vaccine-policy changes, and other candidates include Alkermes CEO Richard Pops and acting commissioner Kyle Diamantas as officials seek stability at the agency amid turnover and policy fights, including debates over abortion-pill access.
Former President Donald Trump endorses a study advocating narrower vaccine guidance, signaling a shift in U.S. vaccination policy debates and how public health recommendations may be framed.