Latest news with #vaccineskeptic
Reuters
23-07-2025
- Health
- Reuters
US health secretary Kennedy's vaccine actions and policy positions
July 23 (Reuters) - U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a long-time vaccine skeptic, has been making sweeping changes to reshape vaccine, food and medicine policies. The most far-reaching of his moves culminated in the layoff of all 17 members of a panel of vaccine experts at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Here are some of the vaccine-related policy moves under Kennedy's leadership in recent months: Date of Announcement: March 13, 2025 Details: U.S. FDA independently recommends virus strains for 2025-2026 influenza vaccines, deviating from traditional advisory committee voting. Date of Announcement: April 16, 2025 Details: Kennedy plans a series of studies on link between autism and environmental factors, including mold, air, water and food. He said, without any scientific evidence, that "environmental toxins" are responsible for the rise in autism rates among children in the U.S. Date of Announcement: May 7, 2025 Details: Federal agencies will create a database to research causes of autism, focusing on Medicare and Medicaid data, as part of a broader effort to explore potential links between vaccines and autism. Date of Announcement: May 20, 2025 Details: The FDA plans new trials for annual COVID-19 boosters, limiting them to older adults and those at risk of severe illness. This change aligns with international perspectives on COVID vaccination strategies. Date of Announcement: May 27, 2025 Details: The U.S. stops recommending routine COVID vaccinations for pregnant women and healthy children, bypassing the CDC's traditional advisory process. Date of Announcement: May 28, 2025 Details: The Trump administration cancels a contract with Moderna (MRNA.O), opens new tab for the late-stage development of its bird flu vaccine, after determining it did not meet scientific standards. Date of Announcement: June 9, 2025 Details: Kennedy fires all members of the CDC vaccine expert panel, which recommends how vaccines are used and by whom, promising to restore public trust in health agencies. Scientists and experts say the changes would undermine public confidence in health agencies. Date of Announcement: June 11, 2025 Details: Kennedy names eight members to serve on a key panel of vaccine advisers, including several who have advocated against vaccines, after abruptly firing all 17 members of the independent committee of experts. Date of announcement: June 23 Details: The new members of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will begin a two-day meet with a revamped agenda which includes discussions on vaccines containing the preservative thimerosal. Date of announcement: July 23 Details: The United States will stop distributing all influenza vaccines that contain mercury-based preservative thimerosal, as Kennedy accepts the vaccine panel's recommendation given in June.
The Independent
13-05-2025
- Health
- The Independent
MAHA at war: RFK Jr's inner circle accusing each other of leaking false info in expletive-ridden phone call
Key players within the Make America Healthy Again movement are locked in a bitter public fight after one of Robert F Kennedy Jr 's top advisers clashed with a supplement CEO in an expletive-ridden phone call. Calley Means, a special government employee for the Health and Human Services, accused The Wellness Company of leaking 'provably untrue information' about his company, Truemed, to MAGA hardliner Laura Loomer. The in-fighting comes as the MAHA movement has seen its influence grow considerably since President Donald Trump entered office, installing vaccine-skeptic Kennedy at the helm of the department. Means called the company's CEO, Pete Gillooly, in a rage Saturday and threatened to involve Kennedy and National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya, Politico first reported. Last week, Loomer accused Means of committing tax fraud through his company, Truemed, which provides customers with letters from doctors that enable them to use pre-tax dollars to purchase health and wellness products via their insurance. Means vehemently denies the allegation. Means pointed the finger at The Wellness Company as the source of the allegation, which the company denies. 'I am going to sue the s*** out of you and escalate this if it continues,' Means said, according to a transcript of the call seen by The Independent. 'Now, if you want to get this into a thing, okay, where it blows up and I talk to Jay Bhattacharya, I talked to Bobby, I f***ing go crazy with all your of whom are friends with me, okay?' 'If one more thing happens, I'm going to go to Jay Bhattacharya and Bobby and tell him that you and your cadre of Peter McCullough and Kelly Victory are spreading lies and trying to f*** with him and hurt his administration,' Means added, referring to two members of The Wellness Company's medical board. The Wellness Company, a supplement vendor whose medical board is made up of vaccine critics, has filed an official ethics complaint about Means's conduct to the Office of the Special Counsel and other agencies. The complaint accuses Means of 'misusing his position as a Special Government Employee to negotiate and level threats in the name of direct financial gain in his business Truemed.' Loomer has been posting allegations on X about Calley and his 'wellness influencer' sister Casey Means, who was tapped last week to serve as Trump's surgeon general. Means accused The Wellness Company's founder, Foster Coulson, of leaking the false information to Loomer, which he denied to Politico. 'I have never spoken to Laura Loomer in my entire life,' Coulson told the outlet. Loomer also denied the allegation and said, 'I look up stuff on my own.' The right-wing conspiracy theorist taunted Means ahead of the publication of Politico 's report Monday and posted on X that a 'massive' and 'devastating' story involving him was about to drop. 'No Laura - filing a fake complaint and leaking it to Politico is not 'devastating,'' Means responded on X. 'I received info that The Wellness Company engaged in an effort to compile and share provably untrue information. I called the CEO to inform him and request he stop before legal action.' Means called the complaint 'ridiculous' and accused Loomer of 'throwing the absolute kitchen sink of stuff that is just lies.' 'It was completely appropriate to call the Wellness Company CEO and request he stop spreading lies,' Means added. A cease and desist letter was sent by a lawyer for Truemed to Gillooly and Coulson on Monday, according to Politico. 'In order to protect the integrity of our investigative process, HHS is unable to confirm any specific investigations or inquiries that may be taking place within the office,' a Health and Human Services spokesperson told The Independent. 'The Office of Civil Rights thoroughly reviews each complaint and determines if it has the legal authority to review and investigate the complaint,' the spokesperson added.
