How RFK Jr.’s Vaccine Agenda Risks a Return of Childhood Plagues
ProPublica • • health
Key Points:
- Invasive Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) meningitis, once nearly eradicated by vaccination, has reemerged in unvaccinated infants in the U.S., highlighting the consequences of declining vaccine uptake.
- Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., known for his antivaccine stance, has altered U.S. vaccine policies, including cutting funding to global vaccine aid and revising the childhood immunization schedule, raising concerns about public health and vaccine access.
- Declining vaccination rates and growing mistrust in vaccines have led to resurgences of preventable diseases like measles and diphtheria in the U.S. and abroad, with severe health outcomes including paralysis, birth defects, and death
