RFK Jr.’s ‘information crisis’ has doctors ditching the CDC to save your kids

A major change is happening in public health guidance, especially when it comes to vaccines. Independent medical groups are now stepping in to address what they see as a gap left by recent shifts in federal vaccine policy. This move is due to the “information crisis” coming from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The reason behind this unusual shift in the medical community is a series of controversial decisions made by HHS, according to The Guardian. Secretary Kennedy Jr. has supported removing thimerosal, a preservative used in a small number of flu vaccines, even though scientific evidence shows it is safe and helps prevent bacterial and fungal contamination. He has refused to support two other key advisory votes: the recommendation for yearly flu shots for everyone over six months old and the approval of RSV vaccines for babies.

These policy changes are not one-time events. Further limits on Covid vaccines have been announced, and Kennedy Jr. has described measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccination as a “personal” choice, even as the country faces its worst measles outbreak in thirty years. This pattern of changing standard vaccine guidance, sometimes reportedly against the advice of federal scientists, has caused serious concern among medical professionals.

Doctors are rebelling against the RFK Jr.’s reign over the CDC

In response to what many see as politics influencing federal health recommendations, top medical organizations are taking action. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has already said it will release new guidance on Covid, flu, and RSV vaccines during pregnancy, expected before the winter respiratory season.

Other groups, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the American College of Physicians, will follow with similar efforts. These organizations aim to provide clear, evidence-based advice to help the public and health insurance companies understand which vaccines should be part of routine health care.

At the heart of this effort is the Vaccine Integrity Project, a volunteer-run initiative now reviewing 16,400 scientific studies on flu, Covid, and RSV vaccines. This thorough analysis, expected to finish in the next two to three weeks, will form the scientific basis for the guidance from these medical groups. Michael Osterholm, an epidemiologist leading the project at the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy (Cidrap), explains that their goal is not to create new recommendations but to give medical organizations the information they need to make their own.

Experts like Scott Rivkees, associate dean for education at the Brown University School of Public Health and former surgeon general of Florida, say there is strong disagreement in the medical community over the current direction of health agencies. He notes a quick shift from relying on CDC recommendations to doctors working together to issue their own guidelines. Osterholm calls this an “information crisis” for Americans, saying that “the CDC science has been corrupted.”

This effort essentially replaces the role historically held by the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). This has been the main source of vaccine guidance since 1964.