There's a war brewing between medical groups and RFK Jr. It's about to explode.
As a family physician in Stockton, Kansas, she's fielded many questions over the years about vaccine safety and effectiveness. But lately, there are new questions that stump her: Can I get the shot this fall and will my insurance cover it?
'I legitimately don't know and that's why it's so confusing,' said Oller, who is also a clinical instructor at the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita.
While Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. changed guidance recommending the COVID-19 shot for healthy people, medical groups representing doctors have publicly rejected those changes.
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The constant back-and-forth between the department and the nation's top doctors is creating confusion and sowing distrust among patients and providers, said Dr. Stephen Patrick, chair of health policy and management at Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health. As new developments emerge, policies impacting patients and their healthcare hang in the balance.
"At the root level, these actions affect people and children,' Patrick said. 'Each of these things are linked to what we do (as doctors) and often linked to what states do and what insurance companies do and that's where a lot of these things can be worrisome.'
What has happened so far?
In the span of just a few months, Kennedy has made monumental changes to a longstanding system that crafts health policy and recommendations.
In June, the Health Secretary fired an entire vaccine panel and hired eight new members, including some vaccine skeptics. In its first meeting later that month, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted to remove a controversial ingredient that was largely phased out of influenza vaccines.
On July 9, Kennedy also postponed another health committee meeting hosted by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), sparking concerns that the Health Secretary may be planning to fire task force members.
Medical groups pushed back immediately. The American Academy of Pediatrics refused to attend the ACIP meeting. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists announced it was no longer accepting federal funding. And the American Medical Association sent Kennedy a letter urging the Health Secretary to retain the USPSTF's original members.
Several organizations have also sued Kennedy over HHS guidance that no longer recommended the COVID-19 vaccine for healthy children and pregnant women, a move that broke with previous expert guidance and bypassed the normal scientific review process. The Health Department announced on August 5 that it was winding down development activities for mRNA, the vaccine technology behind the COVID-19 shot, according to a video posted on X.
Liaisons that represented these professional organizations were banned on July 31 from ACIP work groups that would typically assist with vaccine reviews and craft recommendation language, according to media reports.
What does this all mean?
Although many of the policies have yet to take effect, 'all the noise' in Washington has already impacted Americans, Patrick said.
A new survey from Emory University shows how most of the policy decisions haven't been widely popular and sowed more distrust and doubt in health systems.
About 85% of Americans who voted for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election reported decreased trust from the ACIP firings, while only 34% of those who voted for President Donald Trump reported increased trust, according to the survey published August 6.
Similarly, about 65% of Harris voters reported decreased trust due to the COVID-19 vaccine recommendation changes, while only 35% of Trump voters reported increased trust. About half of Trump voters reported that ACIP and vaccine changes did not affect their trust.
So, while many of the changes from HHS were made in the name of improving trust and reducing bias, it seems to have had the opposite effect, Patrick said.
'Many of these changes are not rooted in evidence and not rooted in public support, either, and that's worrisome,' he said.
Otter urges patients to continue depending on their family doctors for trusted information. She keeps up with the developing news and tries to parse out the 'squabbling' and 'infighting' to help her patients make the best decisions for their health.
'That's the best we can do as medical organizations,' she said. 'Push out there what the truth is and keep encouraging patients when there are things that are confusing.'
Adrianna Rodriguez can be reached at adrodriguez@usatoday.com.
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