Just two weeks into Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s tenure as Secretary of Health and Human Services, he has already begun enacting some of the most radical parts of his conspiracy theory-laden agenda, breaking promises he made to on-the-fence Senators during his confirmation process with deadly consequences.
Last week, coverage confirmed that Kenndy would be removing members of the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee after canceling a critical meeting on vaccine approvals. Earlier this week, he paused a multimillion dollar project to create a new COVID-19 vaccine in pill form, and his FDA canceled an advisory committee meeting on updating next season’s flu vaccine. Republicans like Bill Cassidy, Susan Collins, and Lisa Murkowski ultimately bear responsibility for the public health nightmare that is RFK Jr.’s agenda. As a measles outbreak rages in Texas and bird flu continues to spread unchecked, Kennedy’s disastrous broken promises will continue to lead to more sick and dead Americans, including children.
BROKEN PROMISES
RFK Jr. Committed To Not Change Vaccine Review Standards, Nor Deprioritize Or Delay Vaccine Approval. During Kennedy’s confirmation hearings, Senator Cassidy asked, “[Do you] promise that the FDA will not deprioritize or delay review and/or approval of new vaccines, and that vaccine review standards will not change from historical norms?” Kennedy replied, “Yes.” [Science, 1/30/25]
RFK Jr. Assured Senator Bill Cassidy He Would Maintain The CDC’s ACIP Without Changes. Cassidy said, “If confirmed, [RFK] will maintain the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices without changes.” [Chief Health Care Executive, 2/11/25]
RFK Jr. Assured Senator Lisa Murkowski He Would Not Make It Difficult For People To Take Vaccines Or Discourage Vaccination Efforts. “I continue to have concerns about Mr. Kennedy’s views on vaccines and his selective interpretation of scientific studies, which initially caused my misgivings about his nomination. Vaccines have saved millions of lives, and I sought assurance that, as HHS Secretary, he would do nothing to make it difficult for people to take vaccines or discourage vaccination efforts.” [Sen. Lisa Murkowski, X, 2/12/25]
RFK Jr. Assured Senator Lisa Murkowski He Would Ensure Public Access To Information About Vaccines. “He has made numerous commitments to me and my colleagues, promising to work with Congress to ensure public access to information and to base vaccine recommendations on data-driven, evidence-based, and medically sound research. These commitments are important to me and, on balance, provide assurance for my vote.” [Sen. Lisa Murkowski, X, 2/12/25]
HEADLINES
NBC: First Measles Death Reported In Texas As Kennedy Downplays The Outbreak.
- “Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Wednesday appeared to downplay the seriousness of the West Texas measles outbreak that has killed a school-age child. The child’s death, the first from the disease in a decade in the United States, was confirmed by Katherine Wells, director of public health at the health department in Lubbock, Texas. The child had not been vaccinated against the measles. The outbreak has so far infected at least 124 people — mostly children — in rural West Texas.”
Reuters: Measles Death In Texas Puts Kennedy’s Vaccine Views To The Test.
- “A growing measles outbreak in Texas, where one unvaccinated child died and nearly 20 others have been hospitalized with serious complications, marks the first major test for U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, a longtime vaccine skeptic. Kennedy’s immediate response to news of the measles death, the first in the U.S. since 2015, was to say that such outbreaks are a commonplace event. He incorrectly alluded to two deaths and said that hospitalized patients were being kept “mainly for quarantine” reasons. Public health experts said the Trump administration should be encouraging vaccination at the national level to help curb one of the largest U.S. outbreaks of measles in the past decade.”
MSNBC (Opinion): RFK Jr.’s Rough Start As HHS Secretary Gets Even Worse Amid Texas Measles Outbreak.
- “Those hoping they could count on the HHS secretary for accurate and reliable information quickly learned otherwise. In fact, as part of this relatively brief summary, Kennedy misstated the number of deaths, mischaracterized the nature of the quarantine, and downplayed the significance of the Texas outbreak in ways that didn’t make a lot of sense.”
The New Republic: RFK Jr. Takes a Sledgehammer to Two Major Vaccine Developments.
- “Multiple vaccine projects have been paused by the Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Kennedy paused a multimillion dollar project to create a new Covid-19 vaccine in pill form on Tuesday, and the Food and Drug Administration canceled an advisory committee meeting on updating next season’s flu vaccine, an advisory committee said Wednesday.”
- “Meanwhile, the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, or VRBPAC, was scheduled to meet in March to discuss the strains that would be included in next season’s flu shot, but federal officials told the committee in an email Wednesday that the meeting was cancelled, said committee member Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Offit told NBC News that no explanation was given for the cancellation of the yearly spring meeting, which comes in the middle of a flu season in which 86 children and 19,000 adults have died, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”
CNN: FDA Meeting To Choose Flu Vaccine Composition Canceled Without Explanation.
- “A March meeting of outside advisers to the United States Food and Drug Administration to discuss the composition of flu vaccines for this fall’s flu season has been canceled, a member of the advisory committee told CNN. The meeting of the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, or VRBPAC, is held every March ‘to pick flu strains, because it’s a six-month production cycle for a vaccine released in September,’ Dr. Paul Offit, a member of VRBPAC, told CNN Wednesday. He said this year’s meeting had been set for March 13, and he received an email this afternoon saying it had been canceled. ‘No indication it’s been postponed,’ he told CNN; ‘cancelled.’ He said it wasn’t clear who directed the meeting to be cancelled or why, and said it’s also not clear now how flu vaccine manufacturers will get guidance on the composition of seasonal flu vaccines – ‘relying on WHO recommendations? What’s the plan?’ he said.”
Axios: Trump Team Weighs Pulling Funding For Moderna’s Bird Flu Shot Despite Outbreak.
- “The Trump administration confirmed it’s reviewing whether to pull $590 million in funding that Moderna received in the final days of the Biden administration to develop an mRNA vaccine for bird flu in people.”
- “The review comes after the USDA this month licensed an updated bird flu vaccine for poultry as part of efforts to rebuild a national stockpile for use in livestock. The department on Wednesday said it would spend up to $1 billion to combat the spread of bird flu, including providing free biosecurity audits to farms, NBC News reported.”
Fox News: Multimillion-Dollar Biden-Era COVID-19 Vax Project Halted By Trump’s HHS.
- “Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has paused a multimillion-dollar contract from the Biden administration to create a new COVID-19 vaccine, Fox News Digital has learned.”
- “Kennedy issued a 90-day stop-work order on Friday related to the HHS contract with American biotech company Vaxart Inc., which is working to develop a new COVID-19 vaccine that can be taken orally. The stop-work order comes as 10,000 individuals were slated to begin clinical trials on Monday. The trial is only paused, not terminated, with Kennedy and other health officials set to examine the study’s initial findings over the next 90 days before deciding on next steps.”
NOTUS: Bill Cassidy Is Already Pressing RFK Jr. on Vaccine Policy.
- “Two weeks into Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s tenure as health secretary, some of the Republican senators who voted for him already have questions about how he’s handling the nation’s health policy. ‘I just want to know what the rationale is,’ Sen. Bill Cassidy told NOTUS when asked about the recent cancellation of a Food and Drug Administration committee meeting intended to pick which flu strains to use in next year’s flu shot. He said he plans to ask Kennedy during a scheduled call on Friday about the canceled meeting.”