Anti-Vaxxer-In-Chief: Public Health Project Newsletter — Protect Our Care
Building on Reuters’ recent reporting, this week the Wall Street Journal further confirmed that Donald Trump is regularly pressuring his health secretary to ramp up their shared anti-vax agenda —. . .
Building on Reuters’recent reporting, this week theWall Street Journalfurther confirmedthat Donald Trump is regularly pressuring his health secretary to ramp up their shared anti-vax agenda — unimpressed with RFK Jr. ’s progress in weaponizing the debunked autism-vaccine link. So much for those claims from White House officials that “We’re just kind of done with the vaccine issue. ”Trump clearly doesn’t care his war on vaccines ispolitical poison for Republicans (Independents now reject RFK Jr. by a 2-to-1 margin) —and cares even less that the resulting decline in vaccination rates is literally deadly to American kids. This explains why RFK Jr. has gone to extraordinary lengths in recent months to make Trump happy, including trying to seize“access to most Americans’ medical records, in a quest to research a link between vaccines and autism. ”Not that Sec. Kennedy even needed more motivation from Trump to keep the vaccine fear machine humming. The money is just too good. This week, several Senators“opened a new investigation”into whether RFK Jr. ’s family may be profiting from “a $50 million anti-vaccine settlement that his actions as Secretary could have influenced. ”Trump-RFK Jr. Deadly Anti-Vax Agenda Rolls Down Hill:The New York Timesreleased a sobering analysis: “Emboldened by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ’s efforts to oppose vaccines … [l]awmakers flooded statehouses this year with bills seeking to dismantle vaccination rules or raise questions about vaccine safety, introducing more than 200 measures in 34 states. ” While not a single one of these bills has any basis in science, they all contribute to the unfounded vaccine fear epidemic that has given rise tothe worst measles outbreak in 35 years. Trump’s insistence on fanning the flames of misinformation from the highest levels of power will only feed worse state-based attacks against proven safe and effective vaccines and welcome new surges of preventable disease. Cooking With Celebrities While Public Health Crises Rage:The explosive-diarrhea-causing parasite cyclospora has now sickenedover 10,000 peoplein Michigan alone just days after Sec. Kennedypronounced the crisis “under control”– whileOhio is sufferingits third measles outbreak so far this year, adding to the otherrecord-breaking health crisis. While you might expect the nation’s top health official to be heavily involved on the ground trying to put out these worsening public health fires. In ordinary times, sure. Except, we’re stuck with someone more interested in stroking their own ego than doing their job. Forget a competent and coordinated emergency response plan from the administration, instead ailing Americans arebeing treated to a new celebrity cooking show hosted by RFK Jr. himself. Search for Cassidy’s Spine Continues:Republican HELP Committee Chairman Bill Cassidyrightly castigateda Trump nominee vying to oversee the nation’s emergency supply of vaccines over his disqualifying record of smearing vaccine safety – and Trump’s CDC nominee for refusing to pledge to stand up to RFK Jr when he inevitably meddles with CDC vaccine guidance and disregards the science. After somehemming and hawing, Cassidy moved both along for full Senate approval. Why bother repairing your legacy and standing up for science now after putting RFK Jr in charge, right Senator?In The NewsInfectious Disease Outbreaks and Public Health ThreatsEbolaNew York Times:Ebola Outbreak Is Now the Second-Deadliest Ever, and in Record TimeMeaslesMediaite:‘Congrats to RFK Jr. ’: Democrats, Pundits Pile On as Measles Cases Hit Record HighUSA Today:Senator Warnock calls for RFK Jr. ’s resignation as measles cases spikeMS Now (Sarah Despres and Rochelle Walensky):Opinion: This measles resurgence was foreseeable but not inevitableCyclosporiasisNew York Times:F. D. A. Official Says Food Supply Is Safe as Cyclosporiasis Cases ClimbUSA Today:RFK Jr. weighs in on why cyclosporiasis outbreak has been ‘hard to track’Reuters:Cyclosporiasis cases in Michigan surpass 10,000 in ongoing outbreakCBS:How Trump admin cuts have compromised food safetyCBS:Cyclospora outbreak dubbed “lettuce-gate” as concerns over parasitic illness spread across U. S. CBS:Cyclospora outbreak has many changing eating habits, CBS News poll finds; mixed and partisan confidence in FDAAxios:Cyclosporiasis rates rise in five outbreak statesCBS:Confusion around cyclosporiasis outbreak as RFK Jr. tries to calm concernsThe Guardian:Former FDA official says US handling of cyclospora near ‘catastrophic level’Washington Examiner:Ossoff sends RFK Jr. another letter outlining concerns about cyclosporiasis monitoring fundsBloomberg:Taylor Farms’ White House Ties Queried by Top Democrat Amid OutbreakOther Public Health ThreatsNOTUS:The White House Is Back in the Pandemic Preparedness Game. Barely. The GOP War on Vaccines Will Have Deadly ConsequencesCommon Dreams:‘The Reality Is Ugly’: Trump Reportedly Pushing RFK Jr. to Ramp Up Assault on VaccinesMother Jones:She’s Charged With Killing Her Twins. The Anti-Vaccine Movement Made Her a Martyr. Wall Street Journal:Trump Turns Up the Heat on RFK Jr. to Cut Back Childhood VaccinesMS Now (Hayes Brown):Opinion: RFK Jr. has become the latest victim of a classic Trump trapMS Now:GOP senator sees CDC website on vaccines as ‘almost an insult to the American people’NOTUS:The CDC’s Website Still Cites a Retracted Study Linking Vaccines and AutismNew York Times:Dozens of States Tried to Roll Back Vaccine Laws. Here’s How They Fared. Bloomberg:RFK Jr. Restores Vaccine Funds for Poor Countries After DisputeChaos At HHSCBS:Trump administration has quietly throttled an agency devoted to the safety of American healthcareNominationsNOTUS:Senate Committee Advances Trump’s CDC Picks After Bill Cassidy RelentsResearch CutsForbes:America’s Only Research Center For Disabled Parents Faces ClosureRFK’s AgendaNOTUS:RFK Jr. ’s Big Promise to Ban Pharmaceutical Ads Is in the Slow LaneThe Guardian:RFK Jr urges Alzheimer’s screening but blunts key panel that could drive researchUSA Today:Exclusive: RFK Jr. hosting a new cooking show with celebrity chefsGrift and CorruptionThe Hill:Senate Democrats ask RFK Jr. if family will benefit from vaccine settlementReuters:US lawmakers press Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on vaccine settlementBloomberg:Merck Vaccine Settlement May Profit RFK Jr’s Family, Warren SaysRFK, MAHA and the 2026 ElectionsReal Clear Health:Independents Are Turning on RFK Jr. And His Party Should WorryFood RhetoricStat:As some medical schools embrace RFK Jr. ’s nutrition push, they deftly sidestep MAHA prioritiesOpinionTampa Bay Times (Ed Buckley): The headline from Robert Kennedy’s Tampa visit that nobody wrote | ColumnSan Diego Union Tribune (Editorial):Opinion: How many will die because RFK Jr. was put in charge of public health?Baltimore Sun (AJ Russo):The science advisers are gone. What’s left is a rubber stamp. | GUEST COMMENTARY###