Trump administration vaccine policy and RFK Jr. health agency oversight
One page that accretes the verified record as the story develops. Every fact keeps its date and its sources.
Ken Paxton stirs vaccine skepticism to align with Maha movement
Kennedy had a 10% contingency stake in a Gardasil vaccine lawsuit that reportedly settled for about $50 million in June.
Paul Offit said Paxton may lose to Talarico in the Senate race.
Elizabeth Warren asked Kennedy at his confirmation hearing whether he would continue receiving money from lawsuits while overseeing HHS.
“That does not cover the time of a nurse to talk to the parents, review the shot record, draw up the vaccine, give the injection, provide the education. It’s way more than six bucks for me to do that in a health department, and I’m a low-cost, low-overhead entity.”
Doctor groups fill in for CDC during flu season
The American Academy of Family Physicians recommends all adults get a COVID-19 vaccination, especially seniors and those with other risk factors.
Medical societies agree that just about everybody starting at age 6 months needs flu vaccination.
The American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Family Physicians, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the Infectious Diseases Society of America have posted vaccination guidelines for their patient populations.
FDA commissioner nominee Dr. Heidi Overton appears for confirmation hearing
Overton said CPI reports that for the first time in 60 years prescription drug prices have gone down by 3%.
Sen. Bernie Sanders repeatedly pressed Overton to endorse universal healthcare as a human right during the hearing.
Sanders disputed what caused the decline in prescription drug prices, suggesting it may have been due to legislation passed several years ago.
RFK Jr. received $4 million in book advances from MAHA allies
Kedric Payne is a senior ethics counsel at the Campaign Legal Center.
The book advances were first reported by the New York Times on Wednesday.
Kennedy Jr.'s wife, Cheryl Hines, accepted $210,000 in consultation fees from the non-profit advocacy group Maha Action.
CDC under RFK Jr. blocks states from ordering COVID-19 shots for kids
RFK Jr. has called COVID-19 vaccines the deadliest vaccines ever made.
Approximately 52 percent of all US children are eligible for vaccines through the VFC program.
RFK Jr. has tried to blame COVID-19 vaccines for the deaths of children, despite no evidence supporting the allegations.
Trump officials delay Covid shots for kids
More than half of children in the US receive vaccines through VFC.
States with universal purchase programs include Alaska, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wyoming.
HHS is not providing Covid vaccines through the Vaccines for Children program, and there is no timeline on when the vaccines will be sent.
Cassidy urges Trump to be 'radically honest' on vaccines amid measles outbreak
Cassidy chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana urged the president to be "radically honest" when speaking about vaccines.
Trump's nominee for surgeon general, Nicole Saphier, said in a committee hearing that the MMR vaccine is not lethal.
RFK Jr. tells vaccine-skeptic group they have a friend in the White House
Republican Sens. Ron Johnson and Rand Paul and Republican Reps. Paul Gosar and Thomas Massie were scheduled to appear at the conference.
The committee voted to remove the universal recommendation for the hepatitis B shot at birth and to narrow recommendations for the combined MMRV shot.
Kennedy said Trump asked him to vigorously investigate the potential contribution of childhood vaccines to the chronic disease epidemic.
Trump surgeon general pick backs MMR vaccine, rejects autism link
Saphier is a radiologist and a former Fox News contributor.
Trump withdrew his nomination of Dr. Janette Nesheiwat in May 2025.
The Trump administration favors splitting the MMR vaccine into three shots.
“Chairman Cassidy, you're speaking to someone who tells people they have cancer every day. And the hepatitis B vaccine is one of the most tangible ways we have to prevent cancer,”
US surgeon general nominee disclosed $270,000 income from supplement company
The FDA published a 29-page review of scientific literature on kava in 2020 highlighting safety concerns.
One of Drop RX's products includes kava kava root, which is listed as a prohibited dietary supplement by the US military.
Dr. Peter Lurie of the Center for Science in the Public Interest said it was unimaginable that someone could be surgeon general who had tied their financial interests to increased sales of tobacco.
Maha movement's limitations show amid food-borne illnesses, funding cuts and layoffs
The Trump administration cut almost $200 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap).
The only Maha food achievement to date is the recommendation to replace nine synthetic food dyes.
After Kennedy's mid-July remarks, thousands more cyclospora cases, hundreds of hospitalizations, and two deaths were reported over the next several weeks.
“Instead of actually talking about the genuine problems and the genuine causes of the problems, we have to be distracted by red dyes and seed oils and this idea that all of our public health institutions are corrupt – because the goal of this administration was to defund our public health institutions and other federal agencies. So if you have a movement that can erode trust even further in those public health institutions, which we see Kennedy doing, that really helps the administration to then be able to defund the public health institutions.”
Maryland issues independent vaccine guidance for first time since split from federal government
Dr. Meg Sullivan is Maryland's deputy secretary for public health.
Maryland recommends one dose of the annually updated flu vaccine for children at age 6 months and older.
Maryland recommends an RSV dose for pregnant women at 32 to 36 weeks if not previously vaccinated.
RFK Jr. reportedly ordered measles deaths removed from CDC tally
CDC staff had already reviewed information about the two deaths and accepted the characterization that they were measles-related before the deletion.
Ars Technica reached out to HHS about the discrepancy between the public data and the internal database, and HHS did not immediately respond.
An internal CDC database called 'One CDC Data Platform' still includes the two deleted deaths.
Trump administration pushes food transparency initiatives
Tara flour entered the U.S. food supply without the manufacturer submitting a GRAS notice to the FDA.
The America First Policy Institute published an issue brief titled "Make America Healthy Again by Ensuring Safe Foods" last year.
Under the current system, manufacturers can self-determine whether a new additive is GRAS and introduce it to the U.S. food supply without notifying the FDA or the public.
RFK Jr. claims measles deaths may have been 'fabricated'; Shapiro spars with RFK Jr. over measles and vaccines
Lancaster County Commissioner Josh Parsons said he did not believe there was enough evidence to confirm the two deaths were caused by measles.
Kennedy accused Shapiro and his office of fearmongering, misinformation, and weaponizing infectious disease fears for political gain.
One of the measles-associated deaths was a newborn baby from Lancaster County.
Senator calls for criminal investigation of RFK Jr after Guardian report
Newly obtained letters show Kennedy explicitly told the Samoan prime minister he wanted to study the MMR vaccine and used the words "vaccine" or "vaccination" eight times.
Senator Ed Markey said the records show it was false when Kennedy said his trip had "nothing to do with vaccines" and called for Kennedy to leave office.
Senator Ron Wyden called for a criminal investigation into Robert F. Kennedy Jr. following Guardian reporting that indicated Kennedy lied during Senate confirmation hearings.
Newly revealed documents indicate RFK Jr lied in Senate confirmation hearings
Kennedy told lawmakers during Senate confirmation hearings that his 2019 visit to Samoa had nothing to do with vaccines.
In the letter, Kennedy used the words vaccine or vaccination eight times.
Two young children in Samoa died in July 2018 after being given an improperly mixed MMR vaccine.
“Secretary Kennedy’s visit to Samoa in 2019 was unrelated to vaccines. Any claim or insinuation based on these letters that Secretary Kennedy lied under oath or to Congress is not only false but outright defamatory.”
RFK Jr. questions Pennsylvania measles deaths report amid newborn measles death
The Pennsylvania measles outbreak has reached nearly 400 confirmed cases.
One of the two Pennsylvania measles deaths occurred in a newborn baby.
Kennedy posted a link on his personal X account to The HighWire, an anti-vaccine site run by Del Bigtree.
“Two more Americans are dead because RFK Jr. has spent his career promoting discredited claims, dangerous conspiracies, and quack cures. Instead of using his position as HHS secretary to provide clear advice to Americans on how to keep their children safe from the measles, he has used his megaphone to spread confusion and chaos — with deadly consequences.”
Pennsylvania reports two measles-related deaths as RFK questions whether they were fabricated
Kennedy told a crowd in Lancaster in 2021 that measles could be cured by 'chicken soup and vitamin A,' according to Shapiro.
A postmortem test on the newborn's lung tissue showed the child had a measles infection acquired before birth, according to Diamantoni.
Shapiro joined a lawsuit earlier in 2026 against Kennedy's department's decision to scale back federal vaccine recommendations for children.
HHS plans new FDA deputy commissioner roles for technology and drugs
Jared Seehafer stepped into his FDA advisory role in August of last year.
One new deputy commissioner role would focus on technology and the intersection of health and artificial intelligence.
The FDA earlier in August 2026 granted accelerated approval to Replimune for its melanoma drug, Tudriqev, following two prior rejections.
Trump administration signals possible changes to childhood vaccine schedule
Jake Scott said routine vaccinations are "wired into the machinery of American health care."
In January, the Trump administration said it would reduce the number of vaccines recommended for children, but it was blocked in March by a lawsuit led by the AAP.
Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is a longtime vaccine skeptic.
RFK Jr. may change vaccine recommendation categories
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is the Health Secretary.
The US health department is considering changing how vaccine recommendations are categorized and described.
There are currently three categories of vaccination recommendations granted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
CDC Reports Record Vaccine Exemption Rates Among US Kindergarteners
Non-medical vaccine exemptions for US kindergarteners grew by 17% over the last school year, rising from 3.6% to 4.2% nationwide.
An executive order signed by Donald Trump called for the United States to decrease the number of routine childhood vaccines from 17 diseases to 11 and to separate the MMR vaccine into three distinct doses.
CDC data indicated that measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination rates among kindergarteners fell by 0.1% between the last two school years to 92.4%.
“If we had a secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) who was an actual secretary of HHS instead of an anti-vaccine activist and science denialist, he would stand up in front of the American public and say, ‘Vaccinate your children.’ – please, vaccinate your children,”
CNBC Reports on Public Vaccine Hesitancy Trends in the US
In a survey by KFF presenting adults with four common vaccine myths, fewer than 1 in 10 respondents stated that each myth was definitely true.
According to the CDC, over 93% of individuals infected with measles were unvaccinated or had an unknown vaccination status.
The U.S. reported 2,566 confirmed measles cases and 38 new outbreaks across 47 jurisdictions in a single year, marking a 35-year high.
“All of a sudden, vaccine science has become a political issue or a partisan issue in a way that we've never seen before, and it is really, really challenging to be part of the American public and not know which message to trust because we are seeing different messages come out from the government, from our healthcare providers, from different health authorities, and people really have to then decide,”
Public Health Experts Criticize Trump Administration Vaccine Policy Review
Donald Trump signed an executive order instructing federal agencies to pare back vaccine recommendations.
The public was provided a 30-day window to submit comments on the notice.
The Department of Health and Human Services published a notice to the Federal Register seeking public comments on the categories for vaccine recommendations.
“Public input received in response to this notice will help inform consideration by the Department and the Task Force of whether the current category structure adequately serves the goals of scientific rigor, informed choice, and public trust,”
Guardian editorial criticizes Trump's MMR executive order
Andrew Wakefield, a British gastroenterologist, declared in 1998 that the MMR vaccine was linked to Crohn's disease and autism.
Robert F Kennedy Jr is Trump's health secretary.
GSK and Merck & Co stated that no published scientific evidence supports splitting the MMR vaccine into single shots.
“beautiful, healthy, lovely, delicate little children”
Michigan Maintains Childhood Vaccine Requirements Despite Federal Executive Order
“It's really important for parents to turn to their pediatricians, the people who have been taking care of their children, who have their children's best interests at heart, who know the evidence. Vaccination shouldn't be political, but we live in a time when there [are] all kinds of signaling about health positions based on politics, and I think this is a great example about why that can be very dangerous.”
Former CDC advisor says decline in kindergarten vaccinations is not concerning
“The latest CDC data indicates a 0.1% year-in-year decline in the uptake or acceptance of the vaccine schedule among kindergartners. In certain contexts, the average across the United States shows roughly a 1% shift. Regardless, we are still talking about a very low single-digit lack of compliance with the CDC's recommended vaccine schedule,”
Former CDC adviser downplays kindergarten vaccination decline
Malone said there were failures in accurate communication by the government during COVID
The CDC data showed an increase in parents claiming vaccine exemptions for their children
Malone concluded that there is nothing in the data to panic about, saying 'keep calm and carry on'
“The latest CDC data indicates a 0.1% year-in-year decline in the uptake or acceptance of the vaccine schedule among kindergartners. In certain contexts, the average across the United States shows roughly a 1% shift. Regardless, we are still talking about a very low single-digit lack of compliance with the CDC's recommended vaccine schedule,”
FDA approves first mRNA flu vaccine for older adults
The FDA reversed Prasad's rejection the following week.
Prasad was pushed out of the FDA at the end of April.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. canceled a federal campaign to encourage flu shots during a bad flu season.
Republican senator slams CDC over autism and vaccines website
Cassidy made his comments during a July 26 interview on CNN's "State of the Union."
Cassidy chairs the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.
Cassidy ultimately voted to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary.
“We don't care enough about you to tell the truth. We want to continue to promote that which has been proven false, but we don't want to admit it, whoever we is.”
Lawmakers call for CDC to track vitamin K shot refusals
Dr. Jay Bhattacharya is acting as director of the CDC.
Two Democratic members of Congress called on the CDC to take immediate action on families refusing the vitamin K shot for newborns.
The lawmakers' letter followed a ProPublica investigation that found babies were dying after families refused the vitamin K shot.