The Feds Won't Certify Safe Vaccines Anymore. The Private Sector Is Stepping Up To Do It.

As the founder of one of America’s leading anti-vaccination organizations and now Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has predictably sought to undermine the public’s confidence in vaccination. To further that end, he fired all 17 medical experts on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) in June and loaded it up with fellow anti-vaxxers, which has unsurprisingly led the panel to endorse anti-vax positions.

In January, the CDC cut the number of recommended childhood vaccines from 16 to 10 by essentially adopting Denmark’s schedule. This change was not based on any evidence that the six targeted vaccines were unsafe or ineffective. Furthermore, Denmark’s reduced schedule is an outlier when compared to those of other developed countries.

In response to the CDC’s cuts, American Academy of Pediatrics President (AAP) Andrew Racine stated, “Today’s announcement by federal health officials to arbitrarily stop recommending numerous routine childhood immunizations is dangerous and unnecessary.” The AAP reaffirmed and recommended the original evidence-based immunization schedule.

Now, the American Medical Association (AMA) is teaming up with the Vaccine Integrity Project at the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) at the University of Minnesota to privately evaluate the safety and efficacy of vaccines targeting three viral illnesses for the upcoming 2026–2027 respiratory virus season. The review focuses on immunizations for influenza, COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

Why is the AMA launching this effort? Because, as the group correctly notes in its press release, “For decades, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) served as the engine of evidence-based vaccine policy in the United States. That system has now effectively collapsed.”

It comes as no surprise to libertarians that government bureaucracies often bend with changes in the political winds, but Kennedy has unleashed a gale of unscientific claptrap through our federal health care agencies. Fortunately, private associations like the AMA and AAP are stepping into the breach to provide evidence-based advice on the safety and efficacy of vaccines.

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