The many ways Kennedy is undermining vaccines
Get Starting Point
A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.
Enter Email
Sign Up
The Food and Drug Administration canceled an open meeting on flu vaccines with scientific advisers, later holding it behind closed doors. A top official paused the agency's review of Novavax's COVID-19 vaccine. In a televised interview last week, Kennedy said falsely that similarly created vaccines don't work against respiratory viruses.
Related
:
Advertisement
Some scientists said they saw a pattern: an effort to erode support for routine vaccination, and for the scientists who have long held it up as a public health goal.
'This is a simultaneous process of increasing the likelihood that you will hear his voice and decreasing the likelihood that you'll hear other voices,' Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, said of Kennedy.
Advertisement
He is 'decertifying other voices of authority,' she said.
HHS disagreed that Kennedy was working against vaccines.
'Secretary Kennedy is not anti-vaccine; he is pro-safety,' Andrew Nixon, a department spokesperson said in a statement. 'His focus has always been on ensuring that vaccines are rigorously tested for efficacy and safety.'
The statement continued, 'We are taking action so that Americans get the transparency they deserve and can make informed decisions about their health.'
After attending the funeral of an unvaccinated child who died of measles in West Texas last Sunday, Kennedy endorsed the measles vaccine on the social platform X as 'the most effective way to prevent the spread of measles.'
But he has also described vaccination as a personal choice with poorly understood risks and suggested that miracle treatments were readily available. On Sunday, he praised two local doctors on social media who have promoted dubious, potentially harmful, treatments for measles.
Related
:
Even as cases of measles in the United States have surged past 600 in 22 jurisdictions, Kennedy has claimed in a recent interview that the measles vaccine causes deaths every year (untrue); that it causes encephalitis, blindness and 'all the illnesses that measles itself causes' (untrue); and that the vaccine's effect wanes so dramatically that older adults are 'essentially unvaccinated' (untrue).
According to an email obtained by The New York Times, HHS intends to revise its webpages to include statements like 'The decision to vaccinate is a personal one' and 'People should also be informed about the potential adverse events associated with vaccines.' (Vaccines are already administered only after patients provide informed consent, as required by law.)
Advertisement
Tensions with mainstream experts came into sharp focus last week, when Dr. Peter Marks, the top vaccine regulator, resigned under pressure from the FDA.
'It has become clear that truth and transparency are not desired by the secretary, but rather he wishes subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies,' Marks said in his resignation letter.
Kennedy's position on vaccines has raised alarm for decades. But it has become particularly notable now, against a backdrop of rising skepticism of vaccines and worsening outbreaks of measles and bird flu, experts said.
The MMR vaccine -- a combination product to prevent measles, mumps and rubella that has been available since 1971 -- has long been a target of anti-vaccine campaigns because of the disproved theory that it can cause autism. Kennedy has said that he would like to revisit the issue, in part to assuage parents' fears that the vaccines are unsafe.
Related
:
But he has hired David Geier to reexamine the data. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., a doctor and the chair of the Senate Health Committee, has sharply criticized the decision to spend tax dollars testing a discredited hypothesis even as the administration is cutting billions for other research.
'If we're pissing away money over here,' he said last month, 'that's less money that we have to actually go after the true reason.'
The refusal to accept scientific consensus is 'disturbing, because then we get into very strange territory where it's somebody's hunch that this does or doesn't happen, or does or doesn't work,' said Stephen Jameson, president of the American Association of Immunologists.
In interviews, Kennedy has downplayed risks of measles and emphasized what he sees as the benefits of infection.
Advertisement
'Everybody got measles, and measles gave you protected lifetime protection against measles infection -- the vaccine doesn't do that,' he said in an interview on Fox News.
Two doses of the MMR vaccine do provide decades-long immunity. And while immunity from the infection may last a lifetime, 'people also suffer the consequences of that natural infection,' Jameson said.
One consequence was discovered just a few years ago: A measles infection can destroy the immune system's memory of other invading pathogens, leaving the body vulnerable to them again.
Measles kills roughly 1 in every 1,000 infected people, and 11% of those infected this year have been hospitalized, many of them children younger than 5, according to the CDC. Two girls, ages 6 and 8, died in West Texas.
Related
:
By contrast, side effects after vaccination are uncommon. But Kennedy has suggested that people should apprise themselves of the risks before opting for the shot.
The phrasing implies that 'if you are more fully informed, you might make a different decision,' said Jamieson, of the Annenberg center.
Doctors have long expected health secretaries and the CDC to urge widespread vaccination unequivocally amid an outbreak, and in the past they have.
But Kennedy has spoken enthusiastically about cod liver oil, a steroid and an antibiotic that are not standard therapies. Some of those treatments may be making children more sick.
'The messaging I'm seeing is focused on potential treatments for measles,' said Dr. Sean O'Leary, chair of the infectious disease committee for the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spoke during his Senate confirmation hearing on Jan. 29.
KENNY HOLSTON/NYT
At his confirmation hearing, Kennedy promised that he would not change the CDC's childhood vaccination schedule. About two weeks later, he announced a new commission that would scrutinize it.
Advertisement
The schedule is based on recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a panel of medical experts who review safety and effectiveness data, potential interactions with other drugs and the ideal timing to maximize protection.
At his confirmation hearing, Kennedy claimed that 97% of ACIP members had financial conflicts of interest. He has long held, without evidence, that federal regulators are compromised and are hiding information about the risks of vaccines.
'It's frankly false,' said O'Leary, who serves as a liaison to the committee from the pediatric academy.
Kennedy's statistic came from a 2009 report that found that 97% of disclosure forms had errors, such as missing dates or information in the wrong section.
In fact, ACIP members are carefully screened for major conflicts of interest, and they cannot hold stocks or serve on advisory boards or speaker bureaus affiliated with vaccine manufacturers.
On the rare occasion that members have indirect conflicts of interest -- for example, if an institution at which they work receives money from a drug manufacturer -- they disclose the conflict and recuse themselves from related votes.
The committee's votes were public and often heavily debated.
'When I was CDC director, people flew in from Korea and all over the world to observe the ACIP meetings, because they were a model of transparency,' said Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, who led the agency from 2009 to 2017.
Kennedy has repeatedly promised greater transparency and accountability, but he has proposed ending public comment on health policies.
His department canceled a meeting of the ACIP in February at which members were set to discuss vaccines for meningitis and flu, rescheduling it for April.
Advertisement
The department also canceled a meeting to discuss the seasonal flu vaccine. Officials met later without the agency's scientific advisers.
'After all that conversation about how they want to be transparent, one of the first things he does is take things behind closed doors and diminish the amount of public input we're getting,' said Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association.
At his confirmation hearing, Kennedy repeated a fringe theory that Black Americans should not receive the same vaccines as others because they 'have a much stronger reaction.'
Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., who is Black, admonished him for his 'dangerous' opinion: 'Your voice would be a voice that parents would listen to.'
Two weeks later, at a clinic for teenage mothers in Denver, a 19-year-old woman refused all vaccines for herself and her 1-year-old son -- including the measles and chickenpox shots he was supposed to have that day.
She told the pediatrician, Dr. Hana Smith, who described the incident, that she had read online that vaccines were bad for people with more melanin in their skin.
There are reams of evidence to the contrary. Still, it quickly became clear to Smith that nothing was going to change her patient's mind.
'No matter how much information I can give to the contrary on it, the damage is already done,' Smith said.
Misinformation is particularly difficult to counter, Smith said, 'when it's someone that has a leadership position, especially within the health care system.'
This article originally appeared in
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
MAHA group makes hefty pitch backing Trump and RFK Jr.'s health agenda
MAHA Action, a nonprofit that backs the Trump administration's 'Make America Healthy Again' agenda, has launched a six-figure ad campaign backing President Trump and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s efforts. 'President Trump and Secretary Kennedy have shown incredible courage in taking on powerful interests and putting the health of American families first,' MAHA Action president Tony Lyons said in a statement. 'This is our way of saying thank you for their leadership and ensuring Congress knows that the American people, that millions of MAHA moms and advocates are behind these critical reforms.' 'MAHA Action will amplify the voices demanding an end to the corruption that has led to the chronic disease epidemic, to an existential health crisis,' he added. MAHA Action is spending more than half a million dollars on the campaign to promote the Trump administration's health agenda across cable television and social media platforms through Aug. 12, according to organizers. One ad MAHA Action released touts efforts to promote 'real food' and bust the causes of chronic illnesses. 'MAHA isn't about politics, it's about people standing up to say 'enough,'' the ad states. Kennedy, who previously sought the Democratic presidential nomination before running as an independent and eventually ditching his campaign to endorse Trump, promoted the play on the president's 'Make America Great Again' (MAGA) movement with a health focus ahead of the 2024 election. Since becoming Trump's top health adviser, former environmental lawyer Kennedy has advocated for the removal of food dyes and additives and promoted additional research into autism, among other endeavors. The President's Commission to Make America Healthy Again released an initial report in May that studied childhood chronic diseases. That report identified four top factors that it said are hurting American children: ultraprocessed foods, environmental chemicals, digital behavior and 'overmedicalization.'
Axios
an hour ago
- Axios
A heat dome and "corn sweat" are driving this week's dangerous heat wave
A heat dome — plus the "corn sweat" phenomenon in some areas — is bringing dangerous levels of heat and humidity to much of the country east of the Rockies this week. Why it matters: Heat warnings and advisories stretch from Louisiana and the Florida panhandle up to Chicago and beyond as of Tuesday afternoon, covering nearly 85 million Americans. Driving the news: The main driver is hot, moist air being drawn up from the Atlantic and trapped by a high pressure ridge. Also contributing in some places: "Corn sweat," wherein vast amounts of growing corn and other produce give off moisture through evapotranspiration, further increasing humidity levels in and around agricultural zones. "While corn sweat is never the main reason for major heat," Axios Des Moines' Linh Ta wrote back in 2023, "it can add to it." What they're saying: " This is the time of the year when humidity contributions from corn sweat are highest — around the time of tasseling and pollination, when the flower emerges from the corn stalk," as Iowa state climatologist Justin Glisan told the Washington Post. Zoom in: Conditions could be particularly brutal in Chicago, where the local National Weather Service office is warning of heat indices over 105°F for Wednesday and Thursday. High humidity is especially dangerous, as Axios' Tina Reed and Natalie Daher recently reported, disrupting our bodies' ability to regulate temperatures. Threat level: Long-duration heat waves can be particularly serious events, with warm evenings offering less of a reprieve and extreme heat having a cumulative effect on our health. Extreme heat is the most deadly weather event in the U.S., and research has shown that human-driven climate change is making such events both more intense and more frequent. What they're saying: " Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors," the NWS Milwaukee office advises.
The Hill
2 hours ago
- The Hill
Trump's pharmaceutical tariffs will dig America deeper into medical debt
President Trump recently announced his intent to impose a 200 percent tariff on pharmaceuticals to lure drug manufacturing back to the U.S. This action, if implemented, will come at great cost to millions of Americans already struggling to cover their medical bills and force them deeper into health care debt. A vast number of Americans today rely on prescription medications. Over 60 percent of adults have at least one prescription filled every year. These statistics rise dramatically as we grow older. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found an estimated nine out of 10 people over the age of 65 rely on these drugs to maintain their long-term health. Many adults admit to not taking their medications due to fears over cost. Almost half of adults age 50 and older 'have either skipped filling a prescription due to costs or know someone who has,' according to research by the American Association of Retired Persons. U.S. prescription drug prices are almost three times higher than those of other countries. The U.S. 'pays higher prices for prescription drugs than any other country in the world,' notes the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In part, that's because some of the most widely used drugs in America are imported from other countries. Pharmaceutical imports have more than doubled in recent decades, rising from $65 billion in 2006 to $151 billion in 2019. They include many popular drugs that treat diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, cancer, blood clots, schizophrenia and obesity, among others. The long-term goal of boosting U.S. drug manufacturing to make America less reliant on pharmaceutical production from other countries, lower drug costs and increase medication access is an important endeavor. But the policies we enact to try and achieve this desired outcome must be weighed carefully to avoid creating short-term price spikes and drug shortages that could hurt millions of people. Trump initially said his tariff proposal wouldn't go into effect for another year. He has since changed this view by indicating the U.S. may 'start off' with a lower tariff as early as Aug. 1, and raise it to a 'very high tariff' in a 'year or so.' But experts have issued warnings about the possible impact these tariffs will have on public health, saying even a year isn't enough time for the U.S. drug industry to build the required infrastructure necessary to meet U.S. supply demands. 'That would be potentially disastrous for every person because we need those pharmaceuticals, and it takes those companies a long time to produce them here in the U.S.,' said Afsaneh Beschloss of RockCreek Group in response to Trump's proposed tariff plan. UBS analysts noted Trump's initial proposal to delay enforcement of a 200 percent tariff by 12 months still provides ' insufficient time ' for drug companies to relocate manufacturing operations to the U.S.. A four-to-five-year horizon is more realistic, they say. What's more, research commissioned by the pharmaceutical industry lobby group PhRMA found that a mere 25 percent tariff would increase U.S. drug prices by almost $51 billion. Trump's tariff proposals will hurt those dependent on generic medications especially hard. That's because nearly 80 percent of generic capsules and tablets Americans consume come from outside the U.S. Analysis by Brookings found that, given the low margins on generic prescriptions, tariff pressure could result in the discontinuation of certain drugs that, for many, are their only affordable option. As of last year, Americans owed at least $220 billion in collective medical debt. Fourteen million owed over $1,000. Three million owed over $10,000. Americans cannot absorb billions in added drug price hikes as a result of ill-designed and poorly timed tariff increases. It will place undue economic burden on those who can least afford it by creating drug shortages and impacting access to critical therapies people need to lead long, healthy lives. Trump's policies will be shouldered most by the elderly, the disabled and the marginalized — communities that require access to reasonably-priced prescription drugs. It took decades for U.S. pharmaceutical production to move overseas; moving it back to America can't happen overnight. We need measured policy approaches, not knee-jerk ones, to prevent America's most vulnerable from digging themselves further in debt to pay for medications many already can't afford.
