Public confidence in vaccines waivers as Kennedy's stance shifts

What you probably already know: If you’re not up to date on your latest vaccines, doctors are encouraging you to get them while you can. Despite promising not to crack down on vaccine research and public confidence in vaccines during his Senate confirmation hearings, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is doing just that as health secretary. He has cut billions from state health agencies that was flowing to childhood immunization programs, ordered the National Institutes of Health to stop funding research on vaccine hesitancy, and canceled programs aimed at identifying new vaccines to prevent pandemics. Kennedy has also targeted public confidence by canceling vaccine promotional campaigns and alleges that the scientists involved in promoting flu vaccines have “severe” conflicts of interest.

Why? Kennedy has long been part of the conspiracy theory that vaccines can cause issues like autism, despite that being repeatedly proven to be false. He waivers, though, in his statements making it difficult to nail down what, exactly, he believes. He said in a recent interview that the measles vaccine causes deaths every year, something that is just blatantly false. Then, after a funeral on Sunday in West Texas for an 8-year-old unvaccinated child who died of measles, he stated that the measles vaccine was the most effective way to prevent the spread of the illness. Several children have died as a result of recent outbreaks of measles and many others have been seriously sickened in pockets of the U.S. where vaccination rates are low.

What it means: While his personal views appear conflicted at best, Kennedy is in a position to dramatically impact the availability of common vaccines while also restrict the development of new vaccines. He has stated that choosing to get a vaccine is a “personal choice” and something the government should not mandate. Meanwhile, he has promoted bunk science like vitamin A to treat measles, resulting in parents administering dangerous doses of the vitamin that have damaged their children’s livers. Public confidence in national health departments was already divided by political lines before the last election, but that division has gotten more severe since Trump stepped into office.

What happens now? Top medical officials who interact with Kennedy and his decisions are resigning in protest. Dr. Peter Marks, the country’s top vaccine regulator, stepped down last week saying Kennedy’s “misinformation and lies” are undermining public confidence in vaccines and endangering public health. Marks said in an interview that Kennedy doesn’t care about the truth — only what results in more followers.