Washington D.C. – On Friday night, Donald Trump doubled down on HHS Secretary Kennedy’s anti-vaccine, anti-science agenda, signing a memorandum directing Kennedy “to review best practices from peer, developed countries for core childhood vaccination recommendations,” citing countries abroad that recommend fewer vaccinations. On social media, Trump gave license to Kennedy to “fast track” the regressive vaccine review that could put the nation on a crash course to a major health crisis.
Calling it “a very good decision”, Trump also endorsed the dangerous and irresponsible vote Friday by HHS Sec. Robert Kennedy’s hand-picked, conspiracy-driven Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to end the CDC’s decades-long recommendations that newborns receive the hepatitis B vaccine – an extremely safe and effective preventive treatment that, for decades, reduced infections of the incurable infection among infants and children by 99%. The vote was swiftly condemned by the American Medical Association, pediatricians across the country, and a chorus of public health advocates, including Protect Our Care. The move will no doubt further erode public confidence in the Trump administration’s “MAHA” agenda as Americans already say the U.S. is less healthy on their watch by a 2-to-1 margin.
In response, Public Health Watch, a project of Protect Our Care, released the following statement in response:
“Donald Trump has rubber-stamped RFK Jr.’s anti-vaccine agenda that puts the lives of American children in jeopardy and flies in the face of decades of peer-reviewed data and the recommendations from medical experts. If Trump continues to go along with half-baked, unfounded advice from conspiracy theorists, the nation will see a dramatic uptick in poor health outcomes – like a spike in child mortality rates from hep B infection,” said Brad Woodhouse, President of Protect Our Care. “When the tragic stories pour in of completely preventable deaths of American children, the buck will stop entirely with Donald Trump.
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