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Politico
3 days ago
- Health
- Politico
Kennedy's latest vaccine-related move
Driving the Day IT'S BACK — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Thursday that HHS is reinstating the Task Force on Safer Childhood Vaccines, which disbanded in 1998. The decision comes months after a group he once led sued to bring back the panel. The Children's Health Defense, which Kennedy founded, filed a lawsuit in May against Kennedy over his failure to reconstitute the task force. Kennedy founded CHD years before he launched his presidential campaign in 2023, before dropping out and endorsing President Donald Trump's campaign. The move is the latest in a string of decisions by Kennedy and his department, seemingly aligned with some of the goals of the anti-vaccine movement. Here are others: ACIP overhaul: In June, Kennedy fired the panel that votes on changes to the childhood and adult vaccine schedules, replacing them with new members more closely aligned with his more vaccine-skeptical views. The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has long drawn the ire of anti-vaccine activists and groups, many of which have argued that the panel's members had conflicts of interest. ACIP members were already required to follow transparency rules and disclose potential conflicts. At the reconstituted panel's first meeting the same month, the new members voted to stop recommending that anyone get a flu vaccine containing thimerosal. The CDC website says that there is 'no evidence of harm caused by the low doses of thimerosal in vaccines, except for minor reactions like redness and swelling at the injection site.' But the anti-vaccine movement and Kennedy himself have long theorized that thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative, causes neurological issues. The decision came after a presentation from Lyn Redwood, a former president of the CHD, who identified herself only as a 'private citizen.' Covid vaccine changes: Kennedy bucked the normal ACIP process in May, when he announced changes to the CDC's Covid-19 vaccine recommendations without first waiting for a vote from the panel, as customary. Those changes included removing the recommendation that healthy pregnant women get vaccinated and narrowing the recommendation for healthy children. Many anti-vaccine groups have argued that the Covid vaccine is unsafe for children. In 2022, CHD sued the FDA over its emergency use authorization of the shots, arguing 'defendants used this precarious emergency power to push dangerous drugs on minors.' mRNA cancellations: Kennedy announced plans last week to cancel $500 million in messenger RNA vaccine development projects — the technology used during Trump's first term amid the 'Project Warp Speed' effort to swiftly develop a Covid vaccine. Anti-vaccine groups have repeatedly argued that the technology is unsafe — arguments echoed by Kennedy in his explanation of the decision. WELCOME TO FRIDAY PULSE. TGIF. We're around halfway through August recess. Send your tips, scoops and feedback to khooper@ and sgardner@ and follow along @kelhoops and @sophie_gardnerj. Public Health PSYCH BED SHORTAGE — The number of psychiatric inpatient beds in the U.S. has dropped 97 percent since 1955 after adjusting for population change, according to a report released Thursday — and the authors say a little-known Medicaid policy is behind the trend. The report, from the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank, also notes that Medicaid enrollees are more likely to need access to psychiatric beds than people with private insurance since Medicaid enrollees are 90 percent more likely to have a serious mental illness. But the report argues that access to those services has been complicated by Medicaid's so-called institutions for mental diseases exclusion. The policy prevents federal Medicaid funding to states for most services that IMDs provide, impacting Medicaid recipients seeking care in larger psychiatric hospitals. 'The amount of public disorder and violence that comes from untreated mental illness is a policy choice,' the report argues. 'There are psychiatric hospitals currently operating that could serve individuals with serious mental illnesses if doing so were financially feasible.' What's next: While the federal government has taken a variety of steps in recent years to limit the IMD exclusion, the report highlights growing momentum among lawmakers, advocacy organizations — and even the White House — for repealing the policy. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. voiced support for lifting the exclusion nationwide during a congressional hearing for his confirmation earlier this year. IN THE STATES GUARDING KIDS' HEALTH ONLINE? Mississippi can enforce a law that requires online platforms with substantial pornographic content to put age-verification methods into place to restrict who accesses the material, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday. The justices, POLITICO's Gabby Miller reports, blocked an emergency appeal while NetChoice's challenge to Mississippi's ID law plays out in a federal trial court. The trade group, which represents Meta, YouTube and X, claims the law violates its members' free speech rights. Proponents of the law argue it's a necessary step to safeguard children's mental health. 'We are grateful for the Court's decision to leave Mississippi's law in effect while the case proceeds in a way that permits thoughtful consideration of these important issues,' MaryAsa Lee, communications director at the Mississippi attorney general's office, told POLITICO in a statement. Key context: The decision comes in the wake of a June Supreme Court ruling upholding a different age-verification law in Texas mounted by the adult entertainment industry, also on First Amendment grounds, which argued the law would restrict adult users' access to forms of online expression. NetChoice characterized Thursday's Mississippi decision as an 'unfortunate procedural delay.' Industry Intel ICYMI — Pharma giant Eli Lilly is working to raise prices on products sold in Europe as a way to bring down costs for U.S. consumers. The move by the Indiana-based drugmaker is an apparent response to President Donald Trump's request that drugmakers tie lower drug prices enjoyed by allies to those set domestically. And it comes two weeks after Trump wrote to drugmakers and demanded they embrace so-called most-favored-nation pricing or face unknown consequences. The scheme, which the president tried to implement during his first term in a regulation that courts rejected, would tie the price of a drug sold in the U.S. to its lowest price in other wealthy nations. Read Lauren's full story here. Names in the News Pharmaceutical giant Merck has promoted John Cummins to executive director, leading global media relations, policy, crisis and issue communications and enterprise social media. Cummins has been Merck's longtime director of policy communications and previously served as comms director for Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.). Telehealth company Ro has added Carrianna Suiter Kuruvilla as its new senior director of government and external affairs. She was previously head of federal government relations at DoorDash. WHAT WE'RE READING STAT's Elizabeth Cooney reports on new data that shows lowering blood pressure reduces the risk of dementia. The New York Times' Pam Belluck reports on an experimental approach to treating chronic pain.
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Sworn in as Secretary of Health and Human Services
Following a close 52 to 48 vote, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was sworn in as Secretary of Health and Human Services on Thursday afternoon. "Just as I promised last year, Bobby is going to lead a great national mission to make America healthy again, and he's going to do it. I think he's going to do things that will really make us very proud of this day," President Trump said ahead of the swearing in ceremony. The President also referenced RFK Jr.'s father and his uncle. "Like his father, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and his uncle President John F. Kennedy, Bobby has devoted much of his life to serving his fellow Americans and his campaign for president—and he was a very tough competitor. I did not like it at all. I said, 'Let's get him on my side.'" Kennedy's confirmation vote was generally down party lines with Democrats in strong opposition to the nomination; they were joined by Mitch McConnell, the former Republican majority leader, who is notably a polio survivor. "This Administration – led by the same President who delivered a medical miracle with Project Warp Speed – deserves a leader who is willing to acknowledge without qualification the efficacy of life-saving vaccines and who can demonstrate an understanding of basic elements of the U.S. healthcare system," McConnell said in a statement explaining his opposition to RFK Jr. "Mr. Kennedy failed to prove he is the best possible person to lead America's largest health agency." Throughout his presidential campaign, RFK Jr. invoked his family storied position in American history by sharing anecdotes and posting vintage family photos, and he did so again on Thursday, by telling the story of the first time he visited JFK in the Oval Office in 1962. "My first time in this Oval Office was in 1961 and I came here to meet, or 1962, I came here and I had a meeting with my uncle who was president and where we talked about the environment," RFK Jr. said. He also spoke about President Kennedy's efforts to promote physical fitness in American and his 50-mile challenge. That said, RFK Jr. supported Trump's decision to shut down foreign assistance through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which President Kennedy launched in 1961. RFK Jr. described the agency as "sinister." RFK Jr.'s continued references to the Kennedy political legacy (as well as his controversial, anti-vaccine views) are at the center of an ongoing, public feud between members of his family. Those photographed at the White House ceremony Thursday help make clear which of his relatives align with RFK Jr. Kennedy's daughter Kick posted photos from inside the Oval Office on social media. Her caption referenced a line from Ralph Waldo Emerson, which her father quoted at the ceremony: "If the single man plants himself indomitably on his instincts, and there abides, this huge world will come around to him." Other members of the Kennedy family in attendance included RFK Jr.'s wife, actress Cheryl Hines, his nephew Jackson Hines, his daughter-in-law Amaryllis Fox Kennedy and Kick's sister Kyra. Several members of the Shriver branch of the Kennedy family were also there: Anthony, Carolina, and Joey Shriver. "I want to thank all of you for your support and throughout this whole two and a half year journey," Kennedy said to his relatives. Notably, none of RFK Jr.'s siblings were by his side in the Oval Office. Over the years, several of them has spoken out publicly against RFK Jr., his views on vaccines, and his political ambitions. For example, in 2019, two of his siblings and his niece wrote an article for Politico titled "RFK Jr. Is Our Brother and Uncle. He's Tragically Wrong About Vaccines," "[RFK Jr.] has helped to spread dangerous misinformation over social media and is complicit in sowing distrust of the science behind vaccines," reads the article. Kennedy's views on vaccines made him a controversial pick for HHS Secretary, a position which enormous influence over a number of governmental agencies that impact public health in this country, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. (While Kennedy has repeatedly said he is not against vaccinations, he has an extensive history of promoting inaccurate anti-vaccine claims.) During RFK Jr.'s presidential campaign, many members of the broader Kennedy family denounced him and his views. "I have no idea why anyone thinks he should be president," said JFK's grandson Jack Schlossberg in a now-deleted video posted to social media. Schlossberg also accused RFK Jr. of "trading in on Camelot, celebrity, conspiracy theories, and conflict for personal gain and fame." Several of Kennedy's siblings spoke out when RFK Jr. ended his campaign and threw his support behind Trump. "Our brother Bobby's decision to endorse Trump today is a betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear," reads a statement signed by five of Kennedy's siblings in August of 2024. More recently, Caroline Kennedy, the only living child of President Kennedy, called RFK Jr. a "predator" in a searing video message calling on senators to reject RFK Jr.'s nomination for HHS secretary. "He lacks any relevant government, financial, management, or medical experience," Kennedy said. "His views on vaccines are dangerous and willfully misinformed. These facts alone should be disqualifying, but he has personal qualities related to this job, which for me pose even greater concern." She, too, invoked her family and its legacy in her message. "We are a close family. None of that is easy to say. It also wasn't easy to remain silent last year when Bobby expropriated my father's image and distorted President Kennedy's legacy to advance his own failed campaign and then groveled to Donald Trump for a job. Bobby continues to grandstand off my father's assassination and that of his own father," she said."It's incomprehensible to me that someone who is willing to exploit their own painful family tragedies for publicity would be put in charge of America's life and death situations. Unlike Bobby, I try not to speak for my father, but I am certain that he and my uncle Bobby, who gave their lives in public service to our country, and my uncle Teddy, who devoted his long Senate career to the cause of improving healthcare would be disgusted." Kennedy is also currently at odds with members of his family regarding his views on USAID. Yesterday, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, the legacy organization named for RFK Jr.'s father and run by his sister Kerry Kennedy, who serves as its president, sent a letter urging congress to support the work of USAID. It reads in part: "We urge you to assert Congress's constitutional authority and duty to conduct oversight of funding, personnel, and the nation's foreign policy and to protect the vital work of USAID and other foreign assistance agencies, including programs that Congress has authorized and that government agencies must have capacity to deliver." Generally speaking, those members of the Kennedy family in opposition to RFK Jr.'s views were quiet on social media yesterday. When RFK Jr. was asked about immediate plans for HHS following his swearing in, he did not go into specifics; rather, Trump jumped in to say, "He's going to be running it and he's going to do a great job." "[He's going to] find out a lot of secrets that have been maybe kept from us, but he's going to come up with some solutions to some big, big problems." You Might Also Like 12 Weekend Getaway Spas For Every Type of Occasion 13 Beauty Tools to Up Your At-Home Facial Game
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
McConnell on RFK Jr.: ‘I will not condone the re-litigation of proven cures'
(The Hill) – Sen. Mitch McConnell issued a blistering indictment of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Thursday, with the Kentucky Republican saying his childhood bout with polio heavily influenced his decision to vote against Kennedy as Health and Human Services secretary. 'In my lifetime, I've watched vaccines save millions of lives from devastating diseases across America and around the world. I will not condone the re-litigation of proven cures, and neither will millions of Americans who credit their survival and quality of life to scientific miracles,' McConnell said in a statement. The Senate confirmed the longtime anti-vaccine activist to lead the Department of Health and Human Services Thursday by a vote of 52 to 48. McConnell was the only Republican to vote no, despite other senators indicating they had lingering concerns over Kennedy's vaccine views. 'Individuals, parents, and families have a right to push for a healthier nation and demand the best possible scientific guidance on preventing and treating illness. But a record of trafficking in dangerous conspiracy theories and eroding trust in public health institutions does not entitle Mr. Kennedy to lead these important efforts,' the former Senate majority leader said. McConnell was also the lone GOP no vote against Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence and one of only three Republicans who opposed Pete Hegseth as Defense secretary. During a pair of contentious confirmation hearings last month, Kennedy denied he was anti-vaccine, despite refusing to disavow his promotion of a debunked link between vaccines and autism. Instead, Kennedy painted himself as pro-vaccine safety, contending that vaccines aren't tested enough, something experts say is not true. 'This Administration — led by the same President who delivered a medical miracle with Project Warp Speed — deserves a leader who is willing to acknowledge without qualification the efficacy of life-saving vaccines and who can demonstrate an understanding of basic elements of the U.S. healthcare system,' McConnell said. 'Mr. Kennedy failed to prove he is the best possible person to lead America's largest health agency Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
McConnell on RFK Jr.: ‘I will not condone the relitigation of proven cures'
Sen. Mitch McConnell issued a blistering indictment of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday, with the Kentucky Republican saying his childhood bout with polio heavily influenced his decision to vote against Kennedy as Health and Human Services secretary. 'In my lifetime, I've watched vaccines save millions of lives from devastating diseases across America and around the world. I will not condone the relitigation of proven cures, and neither will millions of Americans who credit their survival and quality of life to scientific miracles,' McConnell said in a statement. The Senate confirmed the longtime anti-vaccine activist to lead the Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday by a vote of 52 to 48. McConnell was the only Republican to vote no, despite other senators indicating they had lingering concerns about Kennedy's vaccine views. 'Individuals, parents, and families have a right to push for a healthier nation and demand the best possible scientific guidance on preventing and treating illness. But a record of trafficking in dangerous conspiracy theories and eroding trust in public health institutions does not entitle Mr. Kennedy to lead these important efforts,' the former Senate majority leader said. McConnell was also the lone GOP no vote against Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence and one of only three Republicans who opposed Pete Hegseth as Defense secretary. During a pair of contentious confirmation hearings last month, Kennedy denied he was against vaccines, despite refusing to disavow his promotion of a debunked link between vaccines and autism. Instead, Kennedy painted himself as pro-vaccine safety, contending that vaccines aren't tested enough, something experts say is not true. 'This Administration — led by the same President who delivered a medical miracle with Project Warp Speed — deserves a leader who is willing to acknowledge without qualification the efficacy of life-saving vaccines and who can demonstrate an understanding of basic elements of the U.S. healthcare system,' McConnell said. 'Mr. Kennedy failed to prove he is the best possible person to lead America's largest health agency Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
McConnell cites RFK Jr.'s ‘record of trafficking in dangerous conspiracy theories' for his no vote
U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell was the only Republican voting against Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s confirmation to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom) U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky was again the lone Republican opposing a Trump nominee Thursday when he cast a no vote against Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s confirmation as health secretary, a day after voting no on Tulsi Gabbard for national intelligence director. The U.S. Senate confirmed Kennedy 52-48 with all Democrats voting no. McConnell cited what he called Kennedy's 'record of trafficking in dangerous conspiracy theories and eroding trust in public health institutions.' McConnell issued the following statement: 'I'm a survivor of childhood polio. In my lifetime, I've watched vaccines save millions of lives from devastating diseases across America and around the world. I will not condone the re-litigation of proven cures, and neither will millions of Americans who credit their survival and quality of life to scientific miracles. 'Individuals, parents, and families have a right to push for a healthier nation and demand the best possible scientific guidance on preventing and treating illness. But a record of trafficking in dangerous conspiracy theories and eroding trust in public health institutions does not entitle Mr. Kennedy to lead these important efforts. 'This Administration – led by the same President who delivered a medical miracle with Project Warp Speed – deserves a leader who is willing to acknowledge without qualification the efficacy of life-saving vaccines and who can demonstrate an understanding of basic elements of the U.S. healthcare system. Mr. Kennedy failed to prove he is the best possible person to lead America's largest health agency. As he takes office, I sincerely hope Mr. Kennedy will choose not to sow further doubt and division but to restore trust in our public health institutions.'
