When Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was appointed secretary of Health and Human Services, some hoped that the responsibility of public office would temper his long-standing hostility toward vaccines. Instead, he is doing exactly what many of us feared: dismantling the systems that protect Americans from preventable infectious diseases.
For decades, major medical societies such as the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Infectious Diseases Society of America have automatically endorsed [the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices] recommendations, confident that they were grounded in rigorous evidence.
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Now, these societies must form their own expert panels and issue independent guidance.
States should then use the expert recommendations from these societies to shape their own vaccine policies. They can direct public health departments and clinicians to follow the guidance.
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Most important, states must ensure that recommended vaccines remain free and accessible. Legislatures and insurance regulators should require both private insurers and Medicaid programs to cover all vaccines endorsed by medical societies or state advisory boards — with no out-of-pocket costs.
