Internal emails show how RFK Jr.'s team sought to sway the CDC
Summary
Newly released emails reveal how Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. influenced the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) during President Trump's second term. The emails show Kennedy’s team pushing to halt some vaccine advertising and replacing all members of a key vaccine advisory panel.Key Facts
- The emails cover public health decisions from early in President Trump’s second term through August 2025.
- In February 2025, Kennedy ordered pulling flu vaccine ads to focus on "informed consent" messaging about vaccine risks and benefits.
- CDC officials warned that stopping flu vaccine ads during a severe flu season risked damaging the agency’s reputation and legal issues.
- Kennedy removed all 17 members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP), which makes national vaccine recommendations.
- Notes revealed Kennedy wanted to replace ACIP members to align the committee more with his goals and reduce political influence.
- The committee is important because its vaccine advice affects federal policies and insurance coverage.
- Kennedy and his team expressed frustration that the Biden administration had recently appointed members to ACIP before leaving office.
- The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions released the emails after getting them from a former CDC official who resigned following the CDC director’s firing.
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