RFK Jr. says Covid-19 vaccines are no longer recommended
The Covid-19 vaccine is no longer recommended for healthy children or pregnant women, says Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of HHS.
When Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was announced as President Donald Trump’s candidate for US health and welfare secretary, there were media and commentators who proposed that RFK Jr. “fight war” with the vaccine. Concerns about his views were so widespread that both vaccines and science associated with research were focused on his confirmation hearing.
So, the moment his enemy warned us now?
For the leaders of “Make America Healthy Again,” it has been a busy week, from updating guidelines on Covid vaccines to threatening government scientists to publish in major medical journals.
Dr. Richard Besser, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and former acting director of the CDC, said Kennedy’s comments on Covid vaccine rollbacks and scientific research are both concerned, and it may be difficult to absorb all the medical news and recommendations people are hearing.
His comments on the science journal include a nugget of truth, just as Kennedy pleaded with his commitment to cracking down on ultra-highly processed foods and artificial food dyes.
“If anyone shares valuable information about the impact of ultra-highly processed foods and the impact that big companies have on policy, it’s a tricky situation and a way that needs to be changed, at the same time spreading falsehoods about the value of vaccination on his health,” says Besser.
RFK Jr. vaccine recommendations and changes
On May 15, Kennedy told people not to take “medical advice” from Wisconsin Democrat Mark Pokan after being asked about the measles vaccine.
“What I say is, my opinion on vaccines is irrelevant,” he said.
However, on May 27, Kennedy shared X in the video clip, announcing that the Covid-19 vaccine will no longer be included in the recommended disease control and prevention vaccination schedule for healthy children and pregnant women, in a move that breaks with previous expert guidance.
Traditionally, the CDC Advisory Committee on Vaccination Practices will meet and vote for changes to vaccination schedules or recommendations on who should get the vaccine before the CDC director makes the final call. The committee has not voted for the changes Kennedy has announced, and CDC representatives are not included in Kennedy’s video.
Kennedy also spoke about the “Ultimate Human” podcast, calling it the three American Medical Association and Lancet Journal of “Corruption,” three of the world’s most influential medical journals, and the Journal of the American Medical Association of Medicine.
“Unless these journals change dramatically, we intend to stop NIH scientists from publishing them and create their own journals in-house,” he said, referring to the National Institutes of Health, an HHS institution and the world’s largest funder of health research.
He added that these journals publish research funded and approved by pharmaceutical companies. And there are several benefits to Kennedy’s statement. Major food and pharmaceutical companies fund scientific research. According to a 2015 article published in the Lancet, Coca-Cola spent $118.6 million over five years on a partnership between scientific research and health and welfare. Several influential healthcare institutions, including the American Cancer Society, received funding from the company.
Changes to RFK Jr. raise “significant concerns” from the scientific community
Kennedy’s move to change Covid vaccine guidelines contradicts previous claims that “no one’s vaccine is taken away.”
However, changes to the guidelines could affect what is covered by insurance and those who have access to the shot if they still want to receive it. Federal vaccine recommendations affect what private insurance covers, and Medicaid only covers the entire cost of the recommended vaccine.
Besser said Kennedy’s updated guidelines “scope serious concerns about the stability of vaccine recommendations.”
“We had no opportunity for people to explore or ask questions about the data that may be behind this decision,” he explains.
To live the healthiest possible life, Besser recommends that people, especially parents, consult with trusted healthcare providers, and “organize the vast amount of information being thrown into them.”
Contribution: Sudiksha kochi
