RFK Jr. blows up America's vaccine policy
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America's vaccine policy has been set for decades, with patients, providers, scientists and insurers more or less in sync on the merits of immunizations.
- In the last several weeks, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has upended long-standing norms, introducing uncertainty into a once-reliable system.
Why it matters: Access to health care may shift in unpredictable ways. At worst, infectious diseases once thought to be eradicated could return.
Catch up quick: Kennedy sent shockwaves through the medical community two weeks ago with a controversial decision to stop recommending the COVID vaccine to healthy kids and healthy pregnant women.
- The CDC contradicted this just days later, recommending that healthy kids do get the COVID shot.
Confusion escalated this week, when Kennedy abruptly dismissed all 17 members of the expert panel that wields a great deal of power in shaping vaccine policy and makes recommendations to the CDC.
- Some of the eight new members Kennedy quickly named have expressed anti-vaccine sentiment in the past.
Together, these changes represent a sharp break from public health precedent — and raise questions about what happens next.
Case in point: Leigh Haldeman, a pregnant woman in Seattle, was recently turned away when going to get a COVID booster shot, as recommended by her doctor, CNN reports.
- Cases like hers could become more common. While most doctors and pharmacies will likely still be able to recommend and administer the vaccine, access might start to erode.
- Insurers are likely to start denying coverage of the COVID vaccine to groups who aren't deemed eligible by the government, putting the vaccine out of reach for people who don't have the time to seek out a willing provider or the money to pay out of pocket for the shot.
The other side: Kennedy has said replacing the members of the expert panel is a "major step towards restoring public trust in vaccines."
- He's also said the decision to stop recommending COVID vaccines to kids is common sense because they're less likely to get very sick from COVID than adults.
- But the vaccine can still protect kids who could develop serious symptoms — and do so with no appreciable side effects, Chris Forrest, a professor of pediatrics at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, told the New York Times.
Zoom out: The COVID vaccine could just be the beginning. The CDC advisory panel members picked by Kennedy thus far are more aligned with his skeptical views of vaccines.
- They could radically reshape — or even scrap — national vaccine recommendations, including those for kids.
- They could also require more testing of new vaccines for safety and efficacy, which could have upstream effects — discouraging academic labs and drug companies from pursuing vaccine research and development.
What to watch: Big changes in America's vaccine policy come amid a major cultural shift. Vaccine skepticism is on the rise, and more kindergartners are showing up to school with exemptions.
- More people also are making their own health decisions, evidenced by lifestyle influencers, wellness enthusiasts and patients fed up with the health system seeking biohacks.
- Scientists and doctors are warning this could lead to the ugly return of diseases once under control — like measles — with larger and more frequent outbreaks.
