WASHINGTON — Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
once said there are no vaccines that are safe and effective. On Wednesday, he seemed to have changed his tune.
Across two Senate hearings, Kennedy noted that as health secretary, he funded the development of new vaccines, green-lit new shots for patients, asserted flu vaccines are preventive care, and even urged “every child to get the MMR,” a shot he previously suggested wasn’t safe. Last week, he acknowledged the shot could have saved the life of a child who died of measles.
Kennedy’s agenda continues to make waves across American health care, as his department pursues a broad crackdown on alleged fraud and seeks to upend Americans’ relationship with ultra-processed foods , all after major cuts across health agencies and a reworking of vaccine policy. But the about-face expands to a number of core MAHA issues — chemicals in food and the government’s relationship with industry among them.
Kennedy Jr.
described actions inconsistent with previous statements that "there are no vaccines that are safe and effective." He reported having funded development of new vaccines, approved new vaccines for patients, characterized influenza immunization as preventive care, encouraged universal childhood MMR vaccination, and acknowledged that an MMR dose might have prevented a recent pediatric measles death.
These moves occur alongside significant budget reductions across health agencies and revisions to vaccine policy.
Some MAHA leaders are described as increasingly skeptical of the administration, which the article says has to balance courting that base while abandoning MAHA priorities judged impractical or politically risky.