RFK Jr. Concedes Measles Vaccine Is Safe, Effective, Better Than Being Sick
While testifying Thursday on Capitol Hill, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose previous anti-vaccine beliefs steered federal policy, allowed that shots might have saved young lives during a measles outbreak in Texas. He also said removing the hepatitis B vaccine from the childhood immunization schedule was the right call.
In a sharp break with his past rhetoric, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. offered a qualified embrace of the measles vaccine on Thursday, as President Trump named a new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention whose views on vaccination are more conventional than Mr. Kennedys. (Gay Stolberg and Blum, 4/16)
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said on Thursday that he was reforming an influential task force that determines which preventive medical screenings, procedures and medications insurance companies must cover at no cost for millions of Americans. Speaking at a congressional hearing, Mr. Kennedy accused the panel, the United States Preventive Services Task Force, of having been lackadaisical and negligent for 20 years. He said he would appoint new members with a clear mission, which he did not elaborate on. (Astor and Blum, 4/16)
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday kicked off what will be a marathon of congressional hearings over the next week, facing lawmakers questions for the first time since last fall. The first two of what will be seven hearings across Capitol Hill took place Thursday. Kennedys first stop was the House Ways & Means Committee where he was appearing for the first time. He then testified in front of the House Appropriations Committee. (Kopan, 4/16)
In related news about vaccine skepticism
New Hampshire lawmakers may drop plans to prohibit all vaccine clinics at public schools. State senators passed legislation Thursday that would allow flu vaccine clinics to continue during the school day and permit clinics during a public health emergency. But funding those clinics may be a hurdle. (Timmins, 4/16)
A recent federal effort to scale back the routine childhood vaccine schedule has shaped how families approach immunization, according to physicians and researchers at Penn Medicine and the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia. In the last six years, CHOPs Primary Care Network has seen a decrease in the percentage of children up to date on immunizations at age 2, according to Joseph St. Geme, the hospitals physician-in-chief. St. Geme wrote that the percentage was 80.0% in 2020 and has dropped to 73.0% in 2026. (Saji and Calcagno, 4/15)
