New intel shows Iran’s nuclear capability is “severely damaged” – despite media reports and the Ayatollah’s claims. RFK Jr. pulls funding from a global vaccine group he says is ignoring the science. And New York is still reeling from a political earthquake after a self-styled socialist’s victory in the Democratic primary for mayor.
It’s Friday, June 27, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.
Morning Wire is available on video! You can watch today’s episode here: 
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<h2>Iran Intel &amp; More Peace In Middle East</h2>
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Topline: New details have emerged on the severity of U.S. airstrikes on Iran, as the White House hints at new peace deals with Middle Eastern adversaries.
Ayatollah Khamenei hadn’t been seen or heard from since before Saturday, as he refrained from any electronic communication for fear of being targeted himself. But on Thursday, he released a video where he struck a defiant tone, declaring victory over the U.S. and Israel and threatening to “take action again” if necessary. Khamenei assured his people that the American strikes “were unable to do anything important” and that President Trump had “exaggerated” their effectiveness &#8212; those claims have been mirrored by some elements of the legacy media.
The war in Iran might have ended, but the fighting is still going on in Washington, with the White House going to battle with the media over the state of Iran’s nuclear program. Knocking out Iran’s nuclear program could end up being one of the president’s signature accomplishments, and he wants credit. Almost immediately after the strikes, which the president said totally obliterated the Iranian nuclear program, the media began reporting otherwise, saying the program had only been set back a few months. A leaked damage assessment from the Defense Intelligence Agency reportedly claimed Iran could have their nuclear program up and running by the new year and that the three nuclear sites struck by the United States had potentially sustained only “moderate” damage. Democrats and the legacy media jumped on that report, saying it was proof the strike was actually a failure and that Trump was lying to the public.
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The White House is disputing this, saying the assessment in question was one of multiple preliminary estimates and that newer intelligence from the CIA and others has revealed the damage to be significantly more severe. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the press failed to report that the leaked document reported “low confidence” in its own assessment and had not been coordinated with the intelligence community more broadly.
&#8220;For people with common sense, everyone knows what happens when you drop fourteen 30,000-pound bombs perfectly on their targets,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said. “Complete and total destruction and obliteration.”
On Thursday, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog, seemed to agree with the White House, saying Iran’s nuclear program “suffered enormous damage.” According to the agency’s director, “there’s a lot of debate about the degree of annihilation, total destruction, and so on. What I can tell you, and I think everyone agrees on this, is that very considerable damage has been done.”
The president has also suggested that other Middle Eastern countries might join the Abraham Accords and normalize relations with Israel in the coming days.
<h2>RFK Withdraws Funding For International Vaccine Organization</h2>
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Topline: HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that the United States is withdrawing funding for an international vaccine organization that he says has lost the public’s trust.
Gavi is a global vaccine alliance that works to provide vaccinations to low-income people worldwide. It was founded by Bill Gates, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the World Bank back in 2000. Gavi has received more than $8 billion from the U.S. government since 2001 and claims to have vaccinated more than one billion children, saving millions of lives. 
RFK Jr.&#8217;s assessment of the group was not entirely negative: he commended Gavi for some of its work – particularly for keeping medicine affordable – when he announced that the United States would halt its financial contributions until Gavi could prove itself to be science-focused and transparent. Kennedy also stated that Gavi helped censor dissenting voices during the COVID pandemic and “ignored the science.” 

“The World Health Organization and Gavi partnered together during the COVID-19 pandemic to recommend best practices for social media companies to silence dissenting views, to stifle free speech and legitimate questions during that period,” Kennedy said. “When vaccine safety issues have come before Gavi, Gavi has treated them not as a patient health problem, but as a public relations problem.”
Kennedy said Gavi must re-earn the public’s trust before the U.S. financial contribution continues. He advised Gavi to “consider the best science available, even when the science contradicts established paradigms.”
The Gates Foundation, in reaction to RFK Jr.’s remarks, has already pledged to give $1.6 billion over the next five years to support Gavi.
<h2>New York City&#8217;s New Frontrunner</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-940133" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_02_17_16.Still003-4.jpeg" alt="" width="640" height="360" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_02_17_16.Still003-4.jpeg 640w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_02_17_16.Still003-4-300x169.jpeg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /></div>
Topline: Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani shocked New York – and many in the Democratic Party – by rising out of seemingly nowhere to win the city’s Democratic primary for mayor.
A left-wing New York assemblyman, Zohran Mamdani, 33, won an upset victory in the NYC Democratic primary against former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, 67. Despite recent polling suggesting it would be a close race, Mamdani overperformed in the early returns with a decisive enough lead that Cuomo conceded within hours.
“Mamdani pulled it off by increasing the turnout among mostly white progressives,” Ryan Girdusky, host of the “It’s a Numbers Game” podcast, told The Daily Wire. “Cuomo&#8217;s turnout was not high enough among black voters. And at the same exact time, Mamdani&#8217;s voter turnout was absolutely like general election turnout. And that, along with being able to siphon off support from the Asian community &#8212; he had an immense amount of Asian outreach despite being against SATs. And the growing Muslim population certainly helped him. And then his last part of his coalition was he was able to splinter a sizable chunk of the Hispanic vote who do not live in the Bronx. He lost the Bronx terribly. But among other Hispanic communities, he did very, very well.”
Mamdani is a self-described socialist who has <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/25/nyregion/mamdani-policies-stances.html">campaigned</a> on rent control, government-owned grocery stores, raising taxes on the top 1% of New Yorkers, and offering sanctuary to illegal aliens. He has also been highly critical of the state of Israel, which he has described as “an apartheid state” that committed “genocide” in the Gaza Strip.
While many prominent New Yorkers, from billionaire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/billionaire-pledges-to-bankroll-any-nyc-mayoral-candidate-who-can-beat-zohran-mamdani?author=Nathan+Gay&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Billionaire+Pledges+To+Bankroll+Any+NYC+Mayoral+Candidate+Who+Can+Beat+Zohran+Mamdani">Bill Ackman</a> to rapper <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/im-not-feeling-this-plan-nyc-native-50-cent-says-hell-put-up-six-figures-for-mamdani-to-go-away">50 Cent</a>, have come out against Mamdani since his victory, he remains the favorite to win the general election. While he is not likely to win a majority of voters, Mamdani will likely face off against three other candidates who are likely to split much of the conservative-to-moderate electorate: incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who chose to run as an independent this election after previously being elected as a Democrat, Cuomo, who despite losing the Democratic primary is also registered to run as a third-party candidate, and Republican Curtis Silwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels crime prevention group.
All three other candidates have their own baggage – Governor Cuomo resigned in disgrace after a sexual harassment scandal, Adams was accused of accepting bribes in a federal investigation that has since been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/federal-judge-dismisses-corruption-case-against-nyc-mayor-eric-adams">dropped</a>, and Silwa, a former radio host and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/22/nyregion/curtis-sliwa-mayor-cats.html">eccentric</a> conservative, faces an uphill battle in a city that favored Democrats over Republicans by <a href="https://www.nbcnewyork.com/new-york-city/new-york-city-2024-election-vote-totals/5959798/">more than 2:1</a> in the last presidential election. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PTRLhkPIu0">Adams</a> and <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/06/26/us-news/defiant-gop-candidate-curtis-sliwa-insists-on-staying-in-nyc-mayoral-race/">Silwa</a> are currently set on staying in the race, while Cuomo is presently &#8220;<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/andrew-cuomo-zohran-mamdani-nyc-mayor-primary-election/">weighing his options</a>.&#8221;
Girdusky told The Daily Wire that if one or more of the other candidates dropped out and allowed their supporters to coalesce, “they could probably beat him. I don&#8217;t know if anyone&#8217;s ego is small enough to allow that to happen.”

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Morning Brief: Ayatollah Downplays U.S. Strikes, RFK Cuts Funding For Vaccine Org, NYC Mayoral Race

Andrew Cuomo

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

Eric Adams

Iran

Israel

Media

Morning Wire

New York City

Politics

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Vaccines

Zohran Mamdani

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced on Wednesday that the United States would not donate to Gavi, a global vaccine alliance, unless and until the organization took steps to &#8220;re-earn the public&#8217;s trust.&#8221;
Kennedy&#8217;s criticism of the <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/25/rfk-vaccine-donations-gavi-00422705" target="_blank" rel="noopener">global body</a> was rooted primarily in its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, and he made that abundantly clear in a video he sent to the Gavi pledging summit – in which he accused the organization of silencing dissent over the highly controversial COVID vaccines and pushing them despite concerns about their safety, per <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/06/25/rfk-vaccine-donations-gavi-00422705">POLITICO</a>.
&#8220;When the science was inconvenient, Gavi ignored the science,&#8221; Kennedy said, arguing that if the United States was going to continue funding the organization, they would have to do better in the future. He also accused Gavi of coordinating with the World Health Organization (WHO) to &#8220;recommend best practices for social media companies to silence dissenting views, to stifle free speech and legitimate questions during that period.&#8221;
&#8220;I call on Gavi today to re-earn the public trust and to justify the $8 billion that America has provided in funding since 2001. And I’ll tell you how to start taking vaccine safety seriously: Consider the best science available, even when the science contradicts established paradigms,&#8221; Kennedy declared. &#8220;Until that happens, the United States won’t contribute more to Gavi.&#8221;
The pledging summit, which is being held in Brussels, hopes to raise $9 billion in funding for the next five years — 2026-2030, but the approximately $300 million the United States provides on an annual basis is what is in question.
&#8220;When vaccine safety issues have come before Gavi, Gavi has treated them not as a patient health problem, but as a public relations problem,&#8221; Kennedy said in his video presentation. &#8220;Business as usual is over, unaccountable and opaque policymaking is over. I invite all of you to join us in a new era of evidence-based medicine, old-standard science and integrity.&#8221;
Kennedy&#8217;s announcement follows earlier reports that suggested President Donald Trump&#8217;s administration planned to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/26/health/usaid-cuts-gavi-bird-flu.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cut funding</a> to Gavi — although they planned to continue funding key grants for things like natural disaster response, HIV, and tuberculosis medications.

RFK Jr. Nixes U.S. Funding For Vaccine Alliance Until It ‘Re-Earns The Public’s Trust’

RFK Jr. Nixes U.S. Funding For Vaccine Alliance Until It 'Re-Earns The Public's Trust'

Health and Human Services

Health Care

World Health Organization

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has named eight people to serve on the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP), <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rfk-jr-guts-cdc-vaccine-panel-retiring-all-17-members?author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=RFK+Jr.+Guts+CDC+Vaccine+Panel%2C+‘Retiring’+All+17+Members" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a highly influential vaccine panel he gutted</a> earlier in the week. 
The new members include Dr. Robert Malone, who worked on early research for mRNA vaccine technology and is a vocal critic of the mRNA COVID vaccines, as well as other medical experts who took dissenting positions from the medical establishment during the COVID pandemic.
Kennedy announced on X Wednesday evening that the eight new members are &#8220;highly credentialed scientists, leading public-health experts, and some of America’s most accomplished physicians.&#8221;
&#8220;All of these individuals are committed to evidence-based medicine, gold-standard science, and common sense,&#8221; he said. &#8220;They have each committed to demanding definitive safety and efficacy data before making any new vaccine recommendations.&#8221;
In addition to Malone, who&#8217;s the most well-known, the other members include Dr. Joseph R. Hibbeln, Martin Kulldorff, Retsef Levi, Dr. Cody Meissner, Dr. Michael A. Ross, Dr. James Pagano, and Vicky Pebsworth.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
On Monday, I took a major step towards restoring public trust in vaccines by reconstituting the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP). I retired the 17 current members of the committee. I’m now repopulating ACIP with the eight new members who will attend ACIP’s…
— Secretary Kennedy (@SecKennedy) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecKennedy/status/1932899858920120692?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 11, 2025</a></blockquote>
Kennedy noted Malone&#8217;s work on mRNA vaccine technology, specifically his &#8220;foundational research in the late 1980s on lipid-mediated mRNA delivery, which laid the groundwork for later developments in mRNA-based therapeutics.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Thank you for the honor of serving my country in this way, <a href="https://twitter.com/SecKennedy?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SecKennedy</a>. I will do my best to serve with unbiased objectivity and rigor. <a href="https://t.co/mO0a3eGcjb">https://t.co/mO0a3eGcjb</a>
— Robert W Malone, MD (@RWMaloneMD) <a href="https://twitter.com/RWMaloneMD/status/1932901388360847477?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 11, 2025</a></blockquote>
Dr. Martin Kulldorff, another panelist, is an epidemiologist who co-authored the pandemic-era Great Barrington Declaration, which criticizes lockdown restrictions, CBS News <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rfk-jr-cdc-vaccine-advisory-panel-names/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rfk-jr-cdc-vaccine-advisory-panel-names/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a>. Additionally, Dr. Cody Meissner opposed COVID vaccine requirements for children and spoke out against masking them.
Kennedy said the new eight members will attend a scheduled ACIP meeting on June 25, which is set to discuss the COVID vaccine.
Explaining his reasoning for gutting the panel on Monday, Kennedy wrote in the Wall Street Journal that ACIP had lost the trust of the American people, effectively becoming a &#8220;rubber-stamp&#8221; for all vaccines while ignoring safety concerns and conflict of interest rules. 
RFK Jr. wrote that ACIP has “never recommended against a vaccine—even those which were later withdrawn for safety reasons,&#8221; adding that the panel “failed to scrutinize vaccine products given to babies and pregnant women.” 
ACIP is highly influential. The panel meets a few times a year and makes recommendations to the CDC, thereby basically setting the childhood vaccine schedule and other vaccine-related recommendations, like flu shots and COVID vaccines. ACIP also heavily influences which vaccines are covered by both public and private insurance.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rfk-jr-guts-cdc-vaccine-panel-retiring-all-17-members?author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=RFK+Jr.+Guts+CDC+Vaccine+Panel%2C+‘Retiring’+All+17+Members" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RFK Jr. Guts CDC Vaccine Panel, ‘Retiring’ All 17 Members</a>

RFK Jr

RFK Jr. Names New Members To Vax Board, Including Critics Of COVID Measures

Covid vaccine

COVID-19

COVID-19 Vaccine

Department of Health and Human Services

Health

vaccine

California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom moves to block the Marines and National Guard as anti-ICE riots continue in Los Angeles. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ousts an entire vaccine advisory panel, saying they’ve lost the public’s trust. And college athletes will now get paid to play.
It’s Wednesday, June 11, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.
Morning Wire is available on video! You can watch today’s episode here: 
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If you’d rather listen to your news, today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below:
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And here&#8217;s a quick programming note: You asked for it, so we’ve brought it back. Morning Wire’s Afternoon Update show is back – with a few slight tweaks. Look for Evening Wire in your podcast feeds on weekdays at 5 p.m. Eastern Time!
<h2>Anti-ICE Riots Spread</h2>
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Topline: As anti-ICE riots continue in L.A., more violent demonstrations have broken out in cities nationwide.
In the last day, we’ve seen the demonstrations spread. In San Francisco, for example, more than 150 people were arrested after a riot began outside of an ICE office, where cars and city buses were destroyed, storefronts vandalized, and police assaulted. In New York City, at least a dozen protesters were arrested outside Trump Tower after resisting police while attempting to shut down traffic. Anti-ICE organizers say they are planning demonstrations in Chicago, Austin, Dallas, Atlanta, and elsewhere.
But Los Angeles is still the epicenter of the unrest. A section of downtown is cleaning up after stores were looted and the area was vandalized, with a large Apple Store robbed by hundreds of rioters — we also saw jewelry and shoe stores looted as well.
&#8220;This is ridiculous,” one local business owner told <a href="https://x.com/bennyjohnson/status/1932473175679373387">NewsNation</a>. “This doesn&#8217;t look like they&#8217;re protesting for ICE or anything. &#8230; Just looting the stores.&#8221;
L.A.’s Democratic Mayor Karen Bass continued to downplay the riots, saying on Tuesday that the violence is only taking place in “several isolated streets in downtown Los Angeles. It is not even all of downtown Los Angeles.&#8221; Bass has made clear from the start that she places the blame on the Trump administration, which she says “provoked” unrest with their raids and threat of bringing in the National Guard. Bass has also said that the media has blown the situation out of proportion and that the LAPD has the situation under control.
However, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell <a href="https://x.com/TheChiefNerd/status/1931919309229392192">said</a> earlier this week that his force had been overwhelmed. “Tonight, we had individuals shooting commercial-grade fireworks at our officers. That can kill you. … We are overwhelmed as far as the number of people out there engaged in this activity. … There is no limit to what they are doing to our officers.&#8221;
President Trump has deployed 700 U.S. Marines and 4,000 members of the California National Guard to the area since the unrest began. Speaking from the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump had a clear message for folks in the rest of the country: the ICE raids will continue, and if you riot, we will respond with force.
Democrats nationwide have continued to push back on Trump’s mobilizing of the National Guard and Marines, saying it is unnecessary and even fascist. Governor Newsom is suing the Trump administration, calling the mobilization of troops an “unmistakable step toward authoritarianism.” On Tuesday, he also filed an <a href="https://www.courthousenews.com/newsom-files-emergency-motion-to-block-military-deployment-in-la/">emergency motion</a> requesting a restraining order to block the deployment of Guardsmen and Marines.
<h2>Vaccine Panel Gutted</h2>
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Topline: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has fired all members of a key vaccine advisory panel.
The Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices, known as ACIP, meets a few times a year and makes recommendations to the CDC; it basically sets the childhood vaccine schedule and makes other vaccine-related recommendations, like flu shots and COVID vaccines. ACIP also heavily influences which vaccines are covered by both public and private insurance.
On Monday, Kennedy announced that he’s “retired” all 17 members. In an op-ed submitted to The Wall Street Journal, Kennedy argued that ACIP had become a rubber stamp for all vaccines, and they weren’t appropriately diving into potential safety risks. He wrote that ACIP has “never recommended against a vaccine—even those which were later withdrawn for safety reasons,” adding that the panel “failed to scrutinize vaccine products given to babies and pregnant women.” Kennedy also highlighted conflicts of interest from ACIP and cited past investigation findings that said ACIP’s enforcement of conflict of interest rules was “weak to nonexistent” and said the panel didn’t offer transparency with their decision-making.
Thirteen of the 17 ACIP panelists were appointed by the Biden administration in 2024. Kennedy said that if he waited for them to serve out what is typically four years on the job, he wouldn&#8217;t be able to get a new panel until 2028, which is part of the reasoning for this swift “clean sweep.”
<h2>College Athletes&#8217; Pay Day</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-932545" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_02_18_04.Still003-2.jpeg" alt="" width="640" height="360" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_02_18_04.Still003-2.jpeg 640w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_02_18_04.Still003-2-300x169.jpeg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /></div>
Topline: College athletes can now be paid directly by their schools after a huge lawsuit was settled this week.
A new era has dawned in the world of college sports. Something that was illegal just a week ago – schools paying players – is now the law of the land.
A settlement in the case of House vs. NCAA, a class-action lawsuit which claimed the NCAA was illegally limiting the earning potential of college athletes, has been approved by U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken. This agreement ends three separate antitrust lawsuits, and it means schools can now begin paying their athletes directly.
The first checks will be cut on July 1. The settlement doesn’t just affect current and future athletes. The NCAA will pay nearly $2.8 billion in back damages over the next 10 years to athletes who competed in college at any time from 2016 through the present day. The settlement comes with an annual cap, much like a salary cap in professional sports, that is expected to start at roughly $20.5 million per school in 2025-26. It will then increase every year during the decade-long deal. These new payments are in addition to scholarships and other benefits the athletes already receive.
It will be interesting to see how each athletic department allocates that $20.5 million between their various sports, and how each program will continue to incorporate NIL deals on top of the revenue-sharing payments.
“If you’re a fan of a group of 5 school, if you’re a fan of one of these middle schools, get ready for hard times,” sports commentator Paul Feinbaum said in response to the deal. &#8220;Women&#8217;s sports will be hurt, Olympic sports will be crushed, football wins, basketball — other than maybe the Big East — takes a slight back seat.”
NCAA President Charlie Baker was more optimistic and said he believes the settlement will help regulate what has been a very volatile market in college sports. “Opportunities to drive transformative change don&#8217;t come often to organizations like ours. It&#8217;s important we make the most of this one.”

MRN 6.11.25 Wed Thumbnail V1

Morning Brief: Anti-ICE Riots Spread, Vaccine Panel Gutted, & College Athletes Get A Big Payday

College sports

Donald Trump

Gavin Newsom

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Karen Bass

Los Angeles

NCAA

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced on Monday that he’s gutting the panel that advises on vaccination safety and efficacy, arguing that it’s another step toward restoring public trust.
Kennedy, whose department has already made <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cdc-stops-pushing-covid-shots-for-healthy-pregnant-women-children-common-sense">several moves</a> to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hhs-investing-500-million-to-develop-universal-vaccines?author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=HHS+Investing+%24500+Million+To+Develop+Universal+Vaccines">shake up</a> vaccination research and recommendations, said he’s “retiring” all 17 members of the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices, known as ACIP.
“Today, we are taking a bold step in restoring public trust by totally reconstituting the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP),” RFK <a href="https://www.wsj.com/opinion/rfk-jr-hhs-moves-to-restore-public-trust-in-vaccines-45495112" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal. “We are retiring the 17 current members of the committee, some of whom were last-minute appointees of the Biden administration.”
Kennedy said he had to remove these panel members or the Trump administration wouldn&#8217;t be able to appoint a majority of new members until 2028.
RFK Jr. suggested the panel effectively works as a rubber-stamp and is plagued with conflicts of interest.
ACIP, he highlighted, has never recommended against a vaccination it’s been asked to advise on, even vaccines that were later withdrawn for safety reasons. “It has failed to scrutinize vaccine products given to babies and pregnant women,” he wrote.
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/gift/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=wisepops&amp;utm_campaign=dad&amp;utm_content=fathersdaygiftpopups" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gift Dad an All Access Membership. Use code DAD40 at checkout to save 40%!</a>
“To make matters worse, the groups that inform ACIP meet behind closed doors, violating the legal and ethical principle of transparency crucial to maintaining public trust,” RFK said.
Kennedy cited a 2000 investigation that found enforcement of ACIP conflict-of-interest rules were “weak to nonexistent.”
“Committee members regularly participated in deliberations and advocated products in which they had a financial stake,” he wrote. “The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) issued conflict-of-interest waivers to every committee member.”
Citing a 2009 HHS inspector general report, Kennedy added that not all committee members completed full conflict-of-interest forms, and of the ones who did, it was found that 97% of the forms had omissions. Additionally, the CDC – which is the agency ACIP passes along its recommendations to – “took no significant action to remedy the omissions.”
“The public must know that unbiased science guides the recommendations from our health agencies,” Kennedy said. “This will ensure the American people receive the safest vaccines possible.&#8221;
As previously reported by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hhs-investing-500-million-to-develop-universal-vaccines?author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=HHS+Investing+%24500+Million+To+Develop+Universal+Vaccines" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Daily Wire</a>, HHS, under Kennedy&#8217;s leadership, is investing half a billion dollars into a project that seeks to develop universal vaccinations for numerous viruses, called &#8220;Generation Gold Standard.&#8221;
Moreover, the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/kennedys-cdc-to-reportedly-study-potential-link-between-vaccines-and-autism?author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Kennedy’s+CDC+To+Reportedly+Study+Potential+Link+Between+Vaccines+And+Autism" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CDC is studying the sharp rise in autism rates</a>, which reportedly includes research on whether there&#8217;s any link between vaccinations and the rise in autism.
And, last month, the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cdc-stops-pushing-covid-shots-for-healthy-pregnant-women-children-common-sense">CDC rescinded guidance</a> that pregnant women and children should receive a vaccine against COVID. “I couldn’t be more pleased to announce that, as of today, the COVID vaccine for healthy children and healthy pregnant women has been removed from the CDC recommended immunization schedule,” RFK said at the time.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cdc-stops-pushing-covid-shots-for-healthy-pregnant-women-children-common-sense" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CDC Stops Pushing COVID Shots For Healthy Pregnant Women, Children: ‘Common Sense’</a>

RFK Jr. Guts CDC Vaccine Panel, ‘Retiring’ All 17 Members

COVID

U.S.

On the latest episode of “Michael &amp; …” Daily Wire host Michael Knowles sits down with Dr. Andrew Wakefield, a highly-controversial figure who has called for more research into the safety of vaccinations, especially the Measle, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccination, which is typically given to children around 12-15 months of age.
Wakefield has been stripped of his medical license and accused of being a fraudster, allegedly falsely claiming in a 1998 study that the MMR vaccine causes autism in children and sparking a dangerous anti-vaccine movement.
WATCH: 
<iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QC11ILbFgqg?si=J5tOVW2mo43YvMbn" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/andy-wakefield-member-exclusive?elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+Show+Episodes+Carousel">Speaking to Knowles</a>, however, Wakefield said that study, which focused on children whose parents thought their child was vaccine-injured, never made such a claim.
“This was a case series just reporting what the parents had told us, what the doctors had told us, who referred them, and what we found on the clinical investigation,” Wakefield says. “We could not leave out the parents&#8217; reference to the MMR [vaccine]. But we said at the conclusion of the study, this study does not prove an association, let alone a causal association with the MMR vaccine.”
“So hold on, hold on,” Knowles interjects. “This is the part that&#8217;s the craziest in the story to me.”
“You are blamed for creating vaccine skepticism. You are blamed for measles outbreaks. You are blamed and called a terrible fraudster and a horrible practitioner of medicine because you said in your 1998 study that the MMR vaccine causes autism. Except you didn&#8217;t say that?”
“Quite the opposite,” Wakefield says. “And we said what we do need is further research into this matter. And that was it. And, the study was really a report of bowel disease [symptoms] in combination with this regressive developmental disorder.”
Knowles then asks Wakefield if he believes the MMR vaccine causes autism.
“Does this vaccine cause autism? Are you willing to say, ‘Yes, it does?&#8217;” Knowles asks. “Or do you say, ‘Look, I just think this should be investigated, as I said in my 1998 study.’ And how concerned should parents be?”
“I wouldn&#8217;t change my position,” Wakefield says. “In my personal belief, there is a very strong indication that it causes autism. But that&#8217;s not good enough. You don&#8217;t make public policy based on Andy Wakefield&#8217;s belief — it needs the science that we advocated for all those years ago.”
During the discussion, Wakefield says he never retracted his study, and disputes the media’s claim that his colleagues did.
“Nine of my colleagues were persuaded to sign the retraction of an interpretation — the interpretation being that the MMR vaccine causes autism,” Wakefield says. “I said, we never made that claim. How can you retract something that doesn&#8217;t exist?”
“You know, they were under pressure,” he says of his colleagues. “I don&#8217;t judge them, but they fell in line and did that.”
Wakefield and two other colleagues “just refused to do that,” he says. “It was a retraction of an interpretation that was never made. And that&#8217;s the truth behind it.”
Knowles also asks Wakefield about a number of accusations made against him.
“So they accused you of misconduct in the methods of the study,” Knowles said. “They accused you of taking money from other interests — they had this whole litany of accusations in the popular media. Was there any truth to the allegations?”
“The lawyers had come to me at some point during this, the conduct of this work, not the research, not the Lancet paper, and I had agreed,” Wakefield says. “This is very common practice to undertake a study to determine whether there was a link between the vaccine.”
“People work for both defendants and for plaintiffs in medical litigation,” he continues. “But I was singled out as, ‘Oh, Wakefield was doing this to undermine the MMR vaccine and launch his own vaccine onto the market and make a fortune.’”
Wakefield says he disclosed that he was working on behalf of these children in litigation, as was proper protocol, despite accusations that he did not.
“It&#8217;s totally transparent, but the allegation was that it was a cover-up, that…was all a big secret,” he says. “No, it wasn&#8217;t…but what do you do about that when you don&#8217;t control the editorial you write?”
During the lengthy discussion, Wakefield also gives his thoughts on separating out the MMR vaccine, delaying the shot on the vaccination schedule, his film “Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe,” his ties to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and much more.

MK&-Show-2 (2)

Knowles Sits Down With Andy Wakefield, Former Doctor Pinned As Man Who Sparked ‘Anti-Vaxx’ Movement 

Measles

Medical Research

Michael Knowles

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is investing half a billion dollars into a project that seeks to develop universal vaccinations for numerous viruses, according to a <a href="https://www.wsj.com/health/healthcare/rfk-jr-bets-500-million-on-universal-vaccines-in-shift-from-covid-19-funding-0299d927" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from The Wall Street Journal.
The project is called &#8220;Generation Gold Standard.&#8221; It seeks to use chemically inactivated whole viruses, which is how flu vaccines were created decades ago. Currently, flu vaccines contain synthetic viral proteins or pieces of viruses.
The goal is to create these vaccines with such technology that are &#8220;universal,&#8221; meaning they will protect against multiple strains of a virus, like the flu, coronavirus, and RSV.
The new project would shift HHS from its current COVID projects and use funding from larger <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/doge-meets-hhs-rfk-jr-to-terminate-20000-bureaucrats-restructure-department" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cuts</a> the department has already made.
For example, The Journal noted that under former President Joe Biden, HHS developed a $5 billion project called NextGen, which studied new COVID vaccines. Under HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., NextGen has been deemed &#8220;wasteful,&#8221; and several of the projects within NextGen have been given stop-work orders.
Generation Gold Standard will give the American public &#8220;a cost-effective, accountable alternative&#8221; to COVID vaccines and therapeutics, an HHS spokesperson told the Journal.
Next year, the project aims to begin trials for a universal flu vaccination, which would protect against numerous strains. Another goal is for trials for a universal coronavirus vaccine to start by 2026, “with FDA approval targeted for 2029.&#8221;
Two scientists with senior roles in the project are Dr. Matthew Memoli, the principal deputy director of the National Institutes of <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/03/10/vaccines-nih-rfk-research-canceled/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Health</a> (NIH), and Dr. Jeffery Taubenberger, acting director of NIH&#8217;s infectious-diseases institute.
“Our commitment is clear: every innovation in vaccine development must be grounded in gold standard science and transparency,” Secretary Kennedy said in a statement.
Under Kennedy, HHS has already made shifts in funding for vaccinations. For example, NIH will <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/maha-in-100-days-how-trump-and-rfk-are-transforming-american-food-healthcare" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stop</a> spending money to determine why Americans hesitate to get vaccines. NIH is terminating or scaling back more than 40 related grants and has said that such spending no longer aligns with NIH priorities.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/maha-in-100-days-how-trump-and-rfk-are-transforming-american-food-healthcare" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MAHA In 100 Days: How Trump And RFK Are Transforming Food And Healthcare In America</a>

RFK Jr.

HHS Investing $500 Million To Develop Universal Vaccines

Minutes after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was sworn in as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing Kennedy and his team to Make America Healthy Again.
The order created the MAHA Commission, and specifically instructed Kennedy to focus on addressing the root causes of America&#8217;s escalating health crisis, especially childhood chronic disease.
Kennedy did just that — and swiftly.
Here’s what the secretary has done so far to transform American food standards and reorient his agency’s health initiatives.
<h3>Food Changes </h3>
DYES: Kennedy announced in April that he’s phasing out a number of artificial food dyes and colorings by the end of 2026. Specifically, HHS is banning petroleum-based synthetic dyes, including Red 3 and 40, Blue 1 and  2, Yellow 5 and 6, and Green 3. Such dyes are common in cereals, candy, baked goods, soft drinks, and other junk foods commonly consumed by children.
HHS will also be partnering with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to conduct comprehensive research on how these dyes impact children’s health and development.
INGREDIENT STANDARDS: Kennedy has directed the FDA to revise a rule that allows companies to “self-affirm” the safety of food ingredients. Under the revision, manufacturers will have to publicly submit safety data for new ingredients. HHS <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/press-room/revising-gras-pathway.html">says</a> such enhanced oversight will “bring transparency to American consumers.”
LIMITING SNAP: Several states are moving to limit food stamps, also known as SNAP benefits, to healthier options. The limits often exclude sugary drinks like soda, candy, and some other highly processed foods.
RFK has urged governors to submit waivers to the Department of Agriculture to effectuate such limits on SNAP. On April 16, Arkansas was the first state in the nation to submit such a request. States like West Virginia, Utah, Idaho, Tennessee, South Carolina, Missouri, and Indiana are exploring SNAP restrictions, too.
TRANSPARENCY TOOL: In March, the FDA unveiled a tool that allows people to look up chemical contaminants in foods from a large database. The tool, which can be <a href="https://www.hfpappexternal.fda.gov/scripts/fdcc/index.cfm?set=contaminant-levels" target="_blank" rel="noopener">accessed here</a>, includes tolerances, action levels, guidance levels, derived intervention levels, recommended maximum levels, and advisory levels of contaminants. Some of the contaminants included in the database are Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, or DDT, a synthetic pesticide; Chlordane, an organochlorine pesticide; and Aldrin and Dieldrin, which are both synthetic chemicals in the insecticide family.
<h3>Formula </h3>
OPERATION STORK SPEED: The FDA announced in March that it is tightening its standards on infant formula and reevaluating current products on the market. The move followed a Consumer Reports investigation, which found that about <a href="https://www.consumerreports.org/babies-kids/baby-formula/baby-formula-contaminants-test-results-a7140095293/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">half of the 41 formulas</a> it tested contained potentially harmful levels of arsenic, lead, BPA, acrylamide, or PFAS, <a href="https://www.newsnationnow.com/health/rfk-jr-baby-formula-operation-stork-speed/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to News Nation.
The FDA, for example, will increase testing for heavy metals and other contaminants in infant formula and encourage companies to work with the FDA to increase transparency and clearer labeling
<h3>Fluoride Fight </h3>
This month, Utah became the first state in the nation to ban the addition of fluoride to public drinking water. Numerous other states are also considering bans, including Florida, where a bill proposing a statewide ban just passed the Senate.
The movement seems to have been sparked by Kennedy, who has routinely spoken out against fluoridation. Just before the election, he <a href="https://x.com/RobertKennedyJr/status/1852812012478398923">posted</a> on X that on day one of Donald Trump’s presidency, he would advise that all United States water systems remove fluoride. He’s also called fluoride an “industrial waste” and says it’s associated with numerous negative effects, like arthritis, IQ loss, and thyroid disease.
<h3>Autism </h3>
CONTRIBUTING FACTORS: There have been reports since March about the CDC studying potential links between vaccinations and the rise in autism. HHS never confirmed nor denied such reports, but said “no stone would go unturned” when researching autism causes. In April, RFK confirmed that he’s commissioning a series of studies on suspected links to high autism rates, including mold, pesticides, food chemicals, and, notably, medication.
NIH, which falls under HHS, is investing $50 million in research for causes and improving treatments for autism, <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2025/04/25/hss-autism-registry-nih-data-platform/83269805007/">according</a> to USA Today.
DEADLINE ON CAUSES: RFK told Trump in April that HHS will know what is causing the autism epidemic by September. Kennedy also revealed new CDC data that found 1 in 31 children are diagnosed with the disorder, which is nearly 5 times higher than when the CDC started these surveys back in 1992, according to some estimates.
<h3>Cleaning House </h3>
Kennedy announced in March that he’s restructuring HHS and terminating tens of thousands of employees.
“What I found when I came to HHS, is really a sprawling bureaucracy. We have over 100 communications departments — we should have one. We have 40 IT departments, 40 procurement departments, dozens of HR departments,” Kennedy <a href="https://x.com/michaeljknowles/status/1905403551024554014" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told Daily Wire host Michael Knowles</a>. “And that is where we’re doing the cuts. We’re going down from 82,000 personnel to 62,000.”
“We’re keeping the scientists, we’re keeping the front-line providers,” he added. “We&#8217;re trying to do our best, not only to serve as stewards of the taxpayer money, but also to make the agency more efficient.”
<h3>Realigning Funding and Research </h3>
VACCINES: The National Institutes of <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/03/10/vaccines-nih-rfk-research-canceled/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Health</a> (NIH) will stop spending money to find out why Americans are hesitant to take vaccines. NIH is terminating or scaling back more than 40 related grants and has said that such spending no longer aligns with NIH priorities.
AUTISM RESEARCH: As noted above, Kennedy has launched a $50 million initiative aimed at investigating the causes of autism and improving treatments.
FUNDING CHRONIC DISEASE: RFK is reallocating funds he’s cut from the NIH and CDC to address chronic disease.
<h3>What’s Next?</h3>
Kennedy is only starting on his mission to address the alarming rates of chronic disease, especially among children. But the secretary has also signaled that he’s eyeing the pharmaceutical industry next.
Kennedy has voiced concerns about how we overmedicate, especially young Americans. There have also been reports that RFK is aiming to curb or <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshuacohen/2025/04/04/rfk-jr-may-want-to-ban-prescription-drug-ads-but-can-he/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ban</a> prescription drug ads.

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MAHA In 100 Days: How Trump And RFK Are Transforming Food And Healthcare In America

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is reportedly studying if there is any link between vaccinations and the rise in autism.
Sources told Reuters that the CDC, which is under the purview of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is planning a large study into vaccines and autism. A CDC study from 2020 found that 1 in 36 children in the United States have been diagnosed with autism.
The Daily Wire reached out to HHS about the report, but has yet to receive a reply.
Over the weekend, HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-cdc-plans-study-into-vaccines-autism-sources-say-2025-03-07/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> the department will leave &#8220;no stone unturned&#8221; while studying the rise in autism.
“As President Trump said in his Joint Address to Congress, the rate of autism in American children has skyrocketed,&#8221; he said. &#8220;CDC will leave no stone unturned in its mission to figure out what exactly is happening. The American people expect high quality research and transparency and that is what CDC is delivering.&#8221;
National Institutes of Health (NIH) director nominee Dr. Jay Bhattacharya has said he doesn&#8217;t believe there is a link between vaccines and the rise in autism, but would back &#8220;a broad scientific agenda&#8221; looking into the matter.
&#8220;I don&#8217;t generally believe there is a link, based on my reading of the literature. But we do have a sharp rise in autism rates, and I don&#8217;t think any scientist really knows the cause of it,&#8221; Bhattacharya said during a confirmation hearing. &#8220;I would support a broad scientific agenda based on data to get an answer to that.&#8221;
Kennedy is currently tackling a measles outbreak in Texas, where 198 cases have been identified since late January, largely among the Mennonite population. In an op-ed published this month, RFK said the <a href="https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/measles/cdc-team-assisting-texas-measles-outbreak-case-total-rises">outbreak</a> must elicit a “<a href="https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/robert-f-kennedy-jr-measles-outbreak-call-action-all-us">call to action</a>” for all of us to affirm our commitment to public health.
The secretary said he’s harnessing HHS to support Texas communities and the state&#8217;s health department by making the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine readily available. HHS has sent 2,000 doses of the vaccine to West Texas. Kennedy also said he’s focusing on educating parents on post-infection treatments and nutrition. 
&#8220;What we’re trying to do is really to restore faith in government, and to make sure that we are there to help them with their needs and not particularly to dictate what they ought to be doing,&#8221; he <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/video/6369595673112" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/maha-update-here-are-rfks-latest-moves-on-big-food-and-big-pharma" target="_blank" rel="noopener">‘MAHA’ Update: Here Are RFK’s Latest Moves On Big Food And Big Pharma</a>

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Visits “The Faulkner Focus”

Kennedy’s CDC To Reportedly Study Potential Link Between Vaccines And Autism

Trump Administration

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is continuing to advance his <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-the-make-america-healthy-again-commission-is-already-impacting-the-food-industry" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;Make America Healthy Again&#8221; movement</a> this coming week, reportedly meeting with top executives from major food brands.
Kennedy, as highlighted by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-the-make-america-healthy-again-commission-is-already-impacting-the-food-industry" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Daily Wire</a>, has already impacted the food industry and made several vaccine-related moves as HHS secretary.
RFK is expected to meet with executives from General Mills, PepsiCo, and other big-name brands on Monday, according to a <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/08/rfk-jr-food-industry-meeting-00219631" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from Politico. The meeting was apparently encouraged by the White House &#8212; President Donald Trump reportedly wants department heads to meet with leaders from the industries they oversee.
Kennedy has voiced concerns about seed oils, dyes, preservatives, and other ingredients often found in processed foods and sugary drinks. Reports suggest food companies will be on board with some related changes, though it&#8217;s expected there will be a lot of pushback over axing seed oils, since they are so inexpensive and versatile.
Additionally, there&#8217;s been a stronger push from state reps and the federal government to limit sugary and highly processed food and drink options for government food benefits, called SNAP. Specifically, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R), as well as lawmakers in Arizona, Indiana, Kansas, Texas, and Wyoming, are looking to restrict SNAP.
U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has also previously said she&#8217;s working with RFK to advance the MAHA movement, and specifically mentioned restricting SNAP. Though, according to The Wall Street Journal, President Trump is skeptical of restrictions or bans since they are typically unpopular with the public. And, notably, Trump himself is an <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/01/21/diet-coke-button-donald-trump/77856559007/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">avid lover of Diet Coke</a>. 
On vaccines, Kennedy has <a href="https://apnews.com/article/childhood-vaccines-schedule-kennedy-trump-hhs-4d5e6c52c602f5edbcd837748605e9d0">indicated</a> that he’ll effectively be reviewing the childhood vaccination schedule. As the head of the &#8220;MAHA Commission,&#8221; Kennedy said he’ll investigate vaccines, as well as pesticides, food additives, microplastics, and antidepressants, to see if they have contributed to a rise of chronic illness.
The HHS secretary has also halted the CDC’s “<a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/02/19/nx-s1-5302906/cdc-flu-vaccine-campaign-terminated">Wild to Mild</a>” campaign <a href="https://www.statnews.com/2025/02/26/rfk-jr-vaccines-informed-consent-cdc-messaging-vaccinations/#:~:text=Health%20and%20Human%20Services%20Secretary,campaign%20promoting%20the%20flu%20vaccine.">promoting</a> the flu vaccine. Kennedy wants advertisements going forward to promote the idea of “informed consent” in vaccine decision-making, which would include giving people <a href="https://www.statnews.com/2025/02/26/rfk-jr-vaccines-informed-consent-cdc-messaging-vaccinations/#:~:text=Health%20and%20Human%20Services%20Secretary,campaign%20promoting%20the%20flu%20vaccine.">information</a> about the adverse events associated with vaccines.
Additionally, citing conflicts of interest, RFK is preparing to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshuacohen/2025/03/01/rfk-jr-readies-cdc-for-changes-in-vaccine-policies/">remove</a> several members of the external committee that advises the FDA and CDC on vaccine approvals and other key public health decisions. Recommendations from that committee, known as ACIP, are almost always followed by HHS and could impact the childhood vaccination schedule. Kennedy has <a href="https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/adult-non-flu-vaccines/scheduled-meeting-cdc-vaccine-advisers-postponed#:~:text=The%20postponing%20of%20the%20ACIP,committees%20likely%20to%20be%20targeted." target="_blank" rel="noopener">postponed</a> ACIP’s first panel to &#8220;accommodate public comment in advance of the meeting.”
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-the-make-america-healthy-again-commission-is-already-impacting-the-food-industry" target="_blank" rel="noopener">How The ‘Make America Healthy Again’ Commission Is Already Impacting The Food Industry</a>

‘MAHA’ Update: Here Are RFK’s Latest Moves On Big Food And Big Pharma

Executive

Food

Prescription Drugs

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kenned Jr. emphasized the importance of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine for children on Sunday as a Mennonite community in Texas faces a &#8220;measles outbreak.&#8221;
Kennedy wrote a 700-word <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/robert-f-kennedy-jr-measles-outbreak-call-action-all-us" target="_blank" rel="noopener">op-ed</a> for Fox News Digital urging parents to talk to their doctors about the MMR vaccine for children. According to the <a href="https://www.dshs.texas.gov/news-alerts/measles-outbreak-feb-28-2025#:~:text=There%20has%20been%20one%20fatality,area%20and%20the%20surrounding%20communities." target="_blank" rel="noopener">Texas Department of Health</a>, 146 measles cases have been identified in the South Plains region since January, mostly among unvaccinated children. One unvaccinated school-aged child in the area died from the respiratory illness while 20 people have been hospitalized.
&#8220;Parents play a pivotal role in safeguarding their children’s health. All parents should consult with their healthcare providers to understand their options to get the MMR vaccine,&#8221; Kennedy wrote. &#8220;The decision to vaccinate is a personal one. Vaccines not only protect individual children from measles, but also contribute to community immunity, protecting those who are unable to be vaccinated due to medical reasons.&#8221;
&#8220;The current Texas outbreak has predominantly affected children, with 116 of the 146 cases occurring in individuals under 18 years of age,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;The DSHS reports that 79 of the confirmed cases involved individuals who had not received the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, while 62 cases had unknown vaccine status. At least five had received an MMR vaccine.&#8221;
Kennedy added that &#8220;good nutrition remains a best defense against most chronic and infectious illnesses,&#8221; saying that parents should focus on vitamin-rich and balanced diets.
&#8220;The measles outbreak in Texas is a call to action for all of us to reaffirm our commitment to public health. By working together — parents, healthcare providers, community leaders, and government officials, we can prevent future outbreaks and protect the health of our nation,&#8221; he wrote. &#8220;Under my leadership, HHS is and will always be committed to radical transparency to regain the public’s trust in its health agencies.&#8221;
Last week during the first cabinet meeting of the new Trump administration, the HHS secretary said that the measles outbreak in Texas was &#8220;not unusual.&#8221;
&#8220;Incidentally, there have been four measles outbreaks this year in this country. Last year, there were 16. So it’s not unusual. We have measles outbreaks every year,&#8221; he said.
In the 16 measles &#8220;outbreaks&#8221; in 2024, there were a total of 285 reported cases of the illness, most of which were in children. Of the 285 measles cases, 40% required hospitalization last year. The death of a Texas child last month is the first death attributed to measles in the U.S. since 2015.
Kennedy said he directed federal agencies, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to work with the Texas state government and offer &#8220;technical assistance, laboratory support, vaccines, and therapeutic medications as needed.&#8221;

RFK Addresses ‘Measles Outbreak,’ Touts MMR Vaccine’s Effectiveness

General

Texas

Senator <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/bernie-sanders" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bernie Sanders</a> (I-VT) grilled Health and Human Services nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over his alleged support for baby onesies that touted the wearer&#8217;s unvaccinated status.
Sanders, officially an independent, joined with Democrats in the Senate Finance Committee as they used Wednesday&#8217;s hearing to highlight and attack some of Kennedy&#8217;s more controversial past statements — particularly regarding vaccines — while disregarding his more recent positions on the issues.
WATCH:
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Sanders began his line of inquiry with an observation, saying to Kennedy, &#8220;I think the gist of what you are trying to say today is you’re really pro-vaccine, you want to ask questions.&#8221;
Kennedy has said on numerous occasions that he does not oppose vaccines per se, but he does not support vaccines being recommended or mandated without first being studied for both safety and efficacy.
&#8220;You have started a group called the Children’s Health Defense. You’re the originator,&#8221; Sanders said then, pivoting to his first query. &#8220;Right now, as I understand it, on their website they are selling what’s called onesies. These are little things, clothing for babies. One of them is styled, ‘UNVAXXED, UNAFRAID.’ Next one — and they’re sold for 26 bucks apiece, by the way — next one is ‘NO VAX, NO PROBLEM.'&#8221;
&#8220;Now you’re coming before this committee and you say you are pro-vaccine, just want to ask some questions. And yet your organization is making money selling a child’s product to parents for 26 bucks, which casts fundamental doubt on you on the usefulness of vaccines,&#8221; Sanders said. &#8220;Can you tell us now that you will, now that you are pro-vaccine, that you’re going to have your organization take these products off the market?&#8221;
&#8220;Senator, I have no power over that organization. I’m not a part of it,&#8221; Kennedy said, pointing out the fact that he&#8217;d already resigned from the board at said organization.
&#8220;That was just a few months ago!&#8221; Sanders interrupted, insisting that Kennedy must still have some influence over what the organization sold or did not sell. &#8220;You founded that, you certainly have power. &#8230; Are you supportive of this?&#8221;
&#8220;I’ve had nothing to do with —&#8221; Kennedy objected again.
&#8220;Are you supportive of these onesies!?&#8221; Sanders demanded to know.
Kennedy did not budge, repeating, &#8220;I’m supportive of vaccines.&#8221;
&#8220;Are you supportive of these — this clothing, which is militantly anti-vaccine?&#8221; Sanders demanded again.
&#8220;I am supportive of vaccines. I want good science and I want to protect —&#8221; Kennedy tried again, but Sanders interrupted once more, substituting his own assertion.
&#8220;But you will not tell the organization you founded not to continue selling that product,&#8221; Sanders said.

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