HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faces a hostile Senate hearing, defending his vaccine policies against attacks from Democrats. The Department of Justice is reportedly considering new gun restrictions targeting individuals with gender dysphoria following the Minneapolis school shooting. CBS News is under fire for another deceptively edited interview as reports suggest a major shakeup is coming with the potential hiring of Bari Weiss.
It’s Friday, September 5, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.
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<h2>RFK Jr. Defends Vaccine Policies in Fiery Senate Hearing</h2>
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Topline: Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. endured a hostile Senate hearing on Thursday, where he fiercely defended his vaccine policies and shakeup of the CDC against a barrage of attacks from Democrats.
During the fiery hearing, Democrats called Kennedy a &#8220;charlatan,&#8221; said he was perpetrating &#8220;hoaxes,&#8221; and demanded his resignation. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) accused him of sacrificing children&#8217;s lives, to which Kennedy retorted, &#8220;You&#8217;ve sat in that chair for &#8230; 25 years – while the chronic disease in our children went up to 76%. And you said nothing.&#8221; When Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) attacked him over recent changes to COVID vaccine access, Kennedy shot back, &#8220;I know you&#8217;ve taken $855,000 from pharmaceutical companies, senator.&#8221;
Kennedy defended his decision to fire CDC Director Susan Monarez, saying she had twice admitted to him that she was not &#8220;trustworthy.&#8221; He also stood by his overhaul of the CDC&#8217;s vaccine advisory panel (ACIP), stating the old panel was &#8220;plagued with conflicts of interest.&#8221;
When Democrats praised Operation Warp Speed in an apparent attempt to drive a wedge between him and the president, Kennedy said Trump deserved a Nobel Prize for it, but that the risk-benefit &#8220;calculus is different&#8221; now that the virus has mutated and adverse event reports have piled up. He also announced that the FDA is reviewing the safety data of the abortion pill mifepristone, alleging the previous administration &#8220;twisted the data&#8221; to &#8220;bury one of the safety signals.&#8221;
<h2>DOJ Weighs Gun Ban for Gender Dysphoria</h2>
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Topline: The Department of Justice is internally deliberating ways to bar individuals suffering from gender dysphoria from obtaining firearms, following a string of violent attacks by trans-identifying individuals, including last week&#8217;s deadly school shooting in Minneapolis.
The Daily Wire first reported that the DOJ is looking at the issue as one of mental health, not gun control. The move comes after a series of high-profile violent crimes committed by people who identify as transgender, including the 2023 Covenant school shooting in Nashville and the attempted assassination of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
The administration&#8217;s focus on mental health stands in stark contrast to the Democratic response to the Minneapolis shooting. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has called for a special legislative session to address gun laws, citing the strict gun control measures in Scotland and Australia as models for the U.S.
On Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance and his wife visited the Annunciation school in Minneapolis, where they laid flowers and met with the parents of the murdered children. &#8220;There is nothing that you can say that can take away the grief that these parents are dealing with,&#8221; Vance said. &#8220;If you do have kids &#8230; make sure that they know that you love them &#8230; because there are families in Minneapolis who won&#8217;t be able to do that ever again.&#8221;
<h2>CBS Under Fire for Deceptive Edits as Shakeup Looms</h2>
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Topline: The White House is blasting CBS News for deceptively editing an interview with DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, the latest in a string of similar incidents, as reports indicate a major leadership shakeup is imminent at the network.
CBS News is under fire for editing out the serious criminal allegations against illegal immigrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia from an interview with Secretary Noem, making it appear the Trump administration was targeting an ordinary person for deportation. According to Curtis Houck of NewsBusters, this is at least the fifth time in four years that CBS has been caught making questionable edits that go &#8220;in one direction&#8221; against conservatives. Previous targets include Governor Ron DeSantis, Speaker Mike Johnson, President Trump, and former Vice President Kamala Harris.
The repeated instances of apparent bias come as a major shakeup is reportedly coming to the network. Puck News reported Wednesday that CBS&#8217; new parent company is in the final stages of a deal to acquire The Free Press and install its founder, Bari Weiss, in a senior role at CBS News. The move is seen as a potential attempt to &#8220;de-politicize&#8221; the news division and return to the network&#8217;s more trusted roots, though it could face internal resistance from current staff.

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Morning Brief: RFK Jr.’s Blockbuster Senate Hearing, DOJ Weighs Trans Gun Ban, CBS’ Stunning Shakeup

CBS News

Department of Justice

Gun Control

Guns

Politics

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Transgender

U.S.

Vaccines

Florida’s surgeon general, alongside GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis, announced on Wednesday that the Sunshine State will end all vaccination mandates, including requirements for schools.
“The Florida Department of Health, in partnership with the government, is working to end all vaccine mandates in Florida law — all of them,” Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo told a room of supporters. “Every last one of them.”
Ladapo went on to say that the government has no right to tell parents what to put in their children’s bodies, or their own bodies, sparking loud applause.
“Every last [mandate] is wrong and drips with disdain — and slavery,” he argued. “Who am I, or anyone else … to tell you what you should put in your body? Who am I to tell you what your child should put in [their] body?”
“I don’t have that right,” he continued. “Your body is a gift from God. What you put into your body is because of your relationship with your body and your God. I don’t have that right. Government does not have that right.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
🚨 MAJOR BREAKING: The Surgeon General of Florida just announced ALL VACCINE MANDATES IN FLORIDA will be ENDED, and the room erupted.
All. Not just COVID. ALL.
JOSEPH LADAPO: &#8220;Every last one is wrong and DRIPS with disdain and slavery! Who am I, or anyone else, to tell YOU what… <a href="https://t.co/Kah5LscGTo">pic.twitter.com/Kah5LscGTo</a>
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) <a href="https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/1963254999204442607?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 3, 2025</a></blockquote>
Ending vaccine requirements for schoolchildren would be a seismic change — every state in the nation currently has school vaccine requirements. Additionally, liberal states have increasingly nixed religious exemptions for families looking to opt their children out of some requirements.
An attorney from New York, who recently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/teen-takes-on-new-york-over-vax-mandate-and-wins">won a major vaccine case</a> in the state, told The Daily Wire that since the state did away with religious exemptions, it has also largely eliminated medical exemptions, despite the government’s claims to still accept them.
“The problem really is these New York State Department of Health regulations that were issued in 2019, that led to hundreds of children who had longstanding medical exemptions suddenly getting them revoked,” attorney Sujata Gibson <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/teen-takes-on-new-york-over-vax-mandate-and-wins">said</a>. “Many, many families have had to move out of town, get vaccinated against medical advice — some children have been severely harmed by that.”
It’s unclear how vaccine requirements will be peeled back in the state, but Ladapo does oversee the Florida Department of Health. He also noted that this vision will be possible with the help of state lawmakers, who Ladapo said will “have to make decisions” on these matters.
Gov. DeSantis has led the charge on the issue of <a href="https://www.axios.com/2023/05/12/desantis-medical-freedom-laws?utm_source=chatgpt.com">medical freedom</a> in the wake of the aggressive COVID policies. In 2023, for example, he signed a set of medical freedom measures into law, which banned mask and vaccine mandates and added new conscience protections for health care providers. He flanked Ladapo during the announcement to end all vaccination requirements on Wednesday.
Federally, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has moved to effectively make COVID vaccine mandates illegal by ending “emergency use authorization” for the vaccines.
“We saw the heavy-handed government with the vaccine mandates with the COVID vaccine, no longer is that possible given the landscape that we’ve created,” FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary <a href="https://x.com/SecKennedy/status/1962895599835009184">said</a>. 
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/desantis-removes-woke-crosswalk-sparks-backlash-from-the-left?author=Hank+Berrien&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=DeSantis+Removes+Woke+Crosswalk%2C+Sparks+Backlash+From+The+Left">DeSantis Removes Woke Crosswalk, Sparks Backlash From The Left</a>

Syringe and Coronavirus vaccine

First In The Nation: Florida To End All Vaccine Mandates

Florida

News

Public Schools

Ron DeSantis

Vaccine Mandate

Woman holding contraceptive pill

How Big Pharma Covered Up The Dark Truth About Birth Control

Big Pharma

Birth Control

COVID

Matt Walsh

Opinion

Pfizer

Psychology

Santa Barbara

Violent Crime

The Food and Drug Administration on Friday started to publicly report adverse events to drugs and some vaccines in real time, a change FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary said promotes &#8220;radical transparency.&#8221;
The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System, known as FAERS, is what the FDA uses as its primary database for collecting adverse event reports related to medication errors, prescription drugs, and some vaccines &#8212; though the main database for vaccine adverse event reports is known as VAERS. The reports are collected from health care professionals, manufacturers, and consumers.
The FAERS public dashboard is available to <a href="https://fis.fda.gov/sense/app/95239e26-e0be-42d9-a960-9a5f7f1c25ee/sheet/7a47a261-d58b-4203-a8aa-6d3021737452/state/analysis">access online</a>.
“Adverse event reporting should be fast, seamless and transparent,” Makary said in a statement. “People who navigate the government’s clunky adverse event reporting websites should not have to wait months for that information to become public. We’re closing that waiting period and will continue to streamline the process from start to finish.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Starting today, the FDA will disclose adverse events publicly in real time. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/radicaltransparency?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#radicaltransparency</a> <a href="https://t.co/WLN38ivs1m">https://t.co/WLN38ivs1m</a>
— Dr. Marty Makary (@DrMakaryFDA) <a href="https://twitter.com/DrMakaryFDA/status/1959010367432020013?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 22, 2025</a></blockquote>
In a press release, the FDA, which is a branch of Health and Human Services (HHS), said the change &#8220;represents a significant step forward in modernizing the agency’s safety monitoring infrastructure and demonstrates our commitment to real-time protection of public health.&#8221;
&#8220;The shift is one of many steps in the FDA&#8217;s broader data modernization strategy to streamline all of its adverse event reporting systems and increase reporting frequency across all systems to identify safety signals faster,&#8221; the press release added.
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Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who leads HHS, has made a number of changes concerning therapeutics and vaccinations. Most notably, the secretary <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rfk-jr-names-new-members-to-vax-board-including-critics-of-covid-measures?author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=RFK+Jr.+Names+New+Members+To+Vax+Board%2C+Including+Critics+Of+COVID+Measures">gutted</a> the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices, known as ACIP, back in June. The <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+%E2%80%98Retiring%E2%80%99+All+17+Members" target="_blank" rel="noopener">highly influential vaccine panel</a>, Kennedy argued, was plagued with conflicts of interest before he took action.
New members on ACIP 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.
<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>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/teen-takes-on-new-york-over-vax-mandate-and-wins?author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Teen+Takes+On+New+York+Over+Vax+Mandate+—+And+Wins">Teen Takes On New York Over Vax Mandate — And Wins</a>

HHS Secretary Kennedy Holds News Conference On Synthetic Dyes In Food Supply

RFK Jr Makes Another Major Change To Boost ‘Radical Transparency’

Department of Health and Human Services

Health

President Trump and Vladimir Putin are set to meet in Alaska today for a high-stakes summit aimed at ending the war in Ukraine. The Trump administration orders a sweeping review of Smithsonian museums to remove &#8220;woke&#8221; and &#8220;divisive&#8221; narratives from exhibits. A 16-year-old girl wins a federal court case in New York, forcing her school to accept a medical vaccine exemption in a state that bans religious exemptions.
It’s Friday, August 15, 2025, 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>Trump and Putin Face Off in Alaska Summit</h2>
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Topline: President Trump is set to sit down with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska today for a high-stakes, one-on-one meeting that could set the stage for ending the war in Ukraine. 
The two leaders will meet at an Air Force Base in Anchorage for what President Trump has called a &#8220;feel out&#8221; meeting. &#8220;This meeting sets up the second meeting,&#8221; Trump said Thursday. &#8220;The second meeting is going to be very, very important because that&#8217;s going to be a meeting where they make a deal.&#8221; 
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was not invited to the initial summit, warned that Putin is not preparing for a ceasefire and will use the meeting as a &#8220;personal victory.&#8221; Trump has offered assurances that if the talks go well, Zelensky will be included in a future meeting. 
Putin enters the negotiations with more leverage than he had earlier in the war, with Russia now controlling about 18% of Ukrainian territory. His likely demands include formally retaining seized land, a guarantee that Ukraine will never join NATO, and the normalization of economic ties with the U.S. 
<h2>Trump Orders Review of ‘Woke’ Smithsonian Museums</h2>
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Topline: The Trump administration has ordered a sweeping review of eight Smithsonian museums to remove what the White House calls &#8220;divisive, race-centered ideology&#8221; and restore an &#8220;America First&#8221; vision to the nation&#8217;s cultural institutions. 
In a letter released this week, the administration announced a comprehensive review to remove &#8220;divisive or partisan narratives&#8221; and ensure exhibits are &#8220;historically accurate.&#8221; The move has drawn fierce criticism, with one museum educator comparing it to the actions of the Taliban.
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Supporters of the review argue that a rewriting of history has already taken place through the embrace of woke ideology. In an appearance on CNN, TV personality Jillian Michaels pointed to a Smithsonian exhibit on gender in sports that calls gender testing &#8220;complex.&#8221; &#8220;It&#8217;s not complex. It&#8217;s basic science,&#8221; she said. &#8220;It&#8217;s XX chromosome, XY chromosome.&#8221; 
President Trump defended the review, saying, &#8220;We want the museums to talk about the history of our country in a fair manner, not in a woke manner or in a racist manner.&#8221; The Smithsonian’s board of regents, which includes Vice President JD Vance, has agreed to cooperate with the review. The move is part of a broader cultural push by the president, who recently vetoed several &#8220;woke&#8221; honorees for the Kennedy Center awards, selecting Sylvester Stallone, George Strait, Gloria Gaynor, Michael Crawford, and the rock band KISS instead. 
<h2>New York Teen Wins Vaccine Exemption Case</h2>
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Topline: A 16-year-old girl has won a federal court case against her New York public school, which must now honor her medical exemption for a vaccine in a state that has banned religious exemptions. 
On Tuesday, a federal court granted a medical exemption to the teen, identified as &#8220;Sarah Doe,&#8221; ordering her school to allow her to attend classes this fall. The case is significant because New York is one of four states that do not allow religious exemptions, and families have reported that schools are increasingly denying valid medical exemptions as well. 
After New York ended religious exemptions in 2019, Sarah received 18 vaccine doses in two months to comply with school mandates. She subsequently developed severe autoimmune conditions and a bleeding disorder. Six different doctors advised her to skip her final Hepatitis B vaccine dose, but the school repeatedly denied the exemption. 
The family&#8217;s attorney, Sujata Gibson, argued that New York&#8217;s regulations have led to hundreds of children with longstanding medical exemptions having them revoked, forcing some to get vaccinated against medical advice. She believes the school&#8217;s actions are a &#8220;square violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.&#8221; With vocal vaccine exemption supporter Robert F. Kennedy Jr. now leading HHS, federal guidance on the issue may be forthcoming.

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Morning Brief: Trump & Putin Alaska Summit, Anti-Woke Review Of Federal Museums, NY Vaxx Case

Alaska

Donald Trump

Global Politics

New York

Smithsonian Museum

Ukraine-Russia War

Vladimir Putin

Volodymyr Zelensky

A 16-year-old girl won in court on Tuesday after the public school system in New York denied her medical vaccine exemption.
A federal court sided with a girl, who is named only by the pseudonym <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-york-school-bans-student-for-following-doctors-vaccine-advice-now-shes-fighting-back">Sarah Doe</a>, after the public school system in New York repeatedly denied her a medical exemption, which she received from six different doctors and a nurse practitioner. 
The court granted her medical exemption and said Sarah must be allowed to attend school, starting in September.
“I’m just happy to go to school and be given this opportunity,” Sarah said following the win. “Thank you everyone for coming, I appreciate all the support – it feels unreal.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
HISTORIC FEDERAL COURT RULING IN NY!
Sarah Doe WINS!!!
16-year-old Sarah Doe must be allowed back to school this September.
Her medical exemption to vaccination is granted in federal court today.
Case backed by <a href="https://twitter.com/ChildrensHD?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ChildrensHD</a>
Here is Sarah in front of the courthouse <a href="https://t.co/qcMintC9i0">pic.twitter.com/qcMintC9i0</a>
— Teachers for Choice (@teacher_choice) <a href="https://twitter.com/teacher_choice/status/1955362186064482351?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 12, 2025</a></blockquote>
New York is one of five states in the U.S. that do not allow religious exemptions for its vaccine mandates. The other states are California, Connecticut, Maine, and West Virginia — though West Virginia&#8217;s governor authorized religious and personal belief exemptions via executive action in 2025, effectively removing it from this list.
Since these remaining states have cracked down on religious exemptions, there have been an increasing number of reports of families saying they&#8217;ve been denied medical exemptions, too. In Sarah&#8217;s case, the court said the school was wrong, and the teen&#8217;s medical exemption is valid.
Sarah, who spoke to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-york-school-bans-student-for-following-doctors-vaccine-advice-now-shes-fighting-back">The Daily Wire</a> back in May about her lawsuit, was advised by a number of medical professionals to skip her final dose of the Hepatitis B vaccination. This was after she developed severe autoimmune conditions, kidney issues, debilitating migraines, continuous rashes, and a diagnosis of a bleeding disorder where blood does not clot properly. All of the conditions started back in 2019, when New York stopped allowing religious exemptions, and Sarah got 18 vaccine doses over the span of two months so she could attend school.
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?utm_campaign=summer&amp;utm_content=editorialsummersale&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial" target="_blank" rel="noopener">End of Summer Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships</a>
“Her back started hurting her, her whole spine,” Jane Doe, Sarah’s mother, told The Daily Wire. “We went for MRIs, she did cat scans – that’s where our life started with the doctors, all of a sudden the new norm was seeing doctors.” 
“At one point, she did become septic, they had to put a stent in her to her kidney through her urethra and she was in the hospital, we had to pack her in ice one night because her temps just wouldn’t come down,” Jane continued. “It’s just her body responding to all those vaccines at once that just shut her down almost.”
Jane felt very strongly that she couldn’t give the last dose of the vaccine to her daughter and said she had no choice but to take legal action. In April, the family filed suit. 
The family’s attorney, Sujata Gibson, said this case was about Sarah and her safety, but also about other children in states like New York that don’t allow religious exemptions. Further, while New York is supposed to allow medical exemptions, Gibson said that’s not what’s happening.
“The problem really is these New York State Department of Health regulations that were issued in 2019, that led to hundreds of children who had longstanding medical exemptions suddenly getting them revoked,” Gibson told The Daily Wire. “Many, many families have had to move out of town, get vaccinated against medical advice — some children have been severely harmed by that.”
Gibson said there’s legislation pending in New York that could fix this issue, called the <a href="https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S686#:~:text=2025%2DS686%20(ACTIVE)%20%2D%20Summary,accept%20a%20medical%20immunization%20exemption.">Education for All Act</a>. This would “reiterate the state’s existing law that says school districts aren’t allowed to overrule treating physicians,” the attorney said.
Gibson also floated the idea that the federal government could take action to remedy the problem. “If the state won’t fix this, we are just hoping that the federal government will intervene,” she said. “There are a lot of things the federal government could do. This is a square violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Children with disabilities are required to be accommodated and allowed to attend school. And what these school districts are doing is flat-out discriminatory and dangerous to their health.”
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. personally supports exemptions and actually <a href="https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/central-ny/news/2019/07/10/rfk-jr--and-sussman-file-lawsuit-challenging-end-to-religious-exemption-for-vaccinations?utm_source=chatgpt.com">filed suit in 2019</a> to challenge New York’s decision to rid religious exemptions. It’s unclear if HHS will put out any guidance on the matter.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-york-school-bans-student-for-following-doctors-vaccine-advice-now-shes-fighting-back">She Listened To Doctors About Which Vaccines To Get. Her School Kicked Her Out.</a>

Sarah and Jane Doe

Teen Takes On New York Over Vax Mandate — And Wins

Lawsuit

Medical

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced on Tuesday that his department is canceling 22 mRNA vaccine development contracts, totaling about $500 million.
Kennedy said mRNA vaccines, including the most widely used COVID-19 immunizations, have been ineffective, so his department is instead shifting this funding toward &#8220;safer, broader vaccine platforms that remain effective even as viruses mutate.”
&#8220;After reviewing the science, and consulting top experts at [National Institutes of Health] and [Food and Drug Administration], HHS has determined that mRNA technology poses more risks than benefits for these respiratory viruses,&#8221; RFK said in a video posted to X.
Kennedy said that mRNA vaccines used during the pandemic &#8220;only code for a small part of the viral protein, usually a single antigen.&#8221;
&#8220;One mutation, and the vaccine becomes ineffective,&#8221; he said. &#8220;This dynamic drives a phenomenon called antigenic shift, meaning that the vaccine paradoxically encourages new mutations and can actually prolong pandemics as the virus constantly mutates to escape the protective effects of the vaccine.&#8221;
Millions of people, RFK noted, caught the Omicron variant, despite being vaccinated. This is due to the nature of the mRNA vaccines. &#8220;A single mutation can make mRNA vaccines ineffective,&#8221; the secretary emphasized.
“Let me be absolutely clear: HHS supports safe, effective vaccines for every American who wants them,&#8221; Kennedy told the public. &#8220;That’s why we’re moving beyond the limitations of mRNA for respiratory viruses and investing in better solutions.&#8221;
Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), an HHS agency, is terminating 22 mRNA vaccine development investments &#8220;because the data show these vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu,&#8221; a press release from HHS reiterates.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
We reviewed the science, listened to the experts, and acted. BARDA is terminating 22 mRNA vaccine development investments because the data show these vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu. We’re shifting that funding toward… <a href="https://t.co/GPKbuU7ywN">pic.twitter.com/GPKbuU7ywN</a>
— Secretary Kennedy (@SecKennedy) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecKennedy/status/1952851097019633766?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 5, 2025</a></blockquote>
BARDA will now focus on &#8220;platforms with stronger safety records and transparent clinical and manufacturing data practices,&#8221; HHS said. &#8220;Technologies that were funded during the emergency phase but failed to meet current scientific standards will be phased out in favor of evidence-based, ethically grounded solutions – like whole-virus vaccines and novel platforms.&#8221;
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/more-maha-wins-12-states-cutting-soda-candy-from-food-stamps?author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=More+MAHA+Wins%3A+12+States+Cutting+Soda%2C+Candy+From+Food+Stamps">More MAHA Wins: 12 States Cutting Soda, Candy From Food Stamps</a>

RFK Jr

RFK Jr. Shuts Down $500M In mRNA Vaccine Research: ‘More Risks Than Benefits’

Medical Research

vaccine

The Food and Drug Administration’s top vaccine and gene therapy regulator has reportedly been ousted from his position.
Dr. Vinay Prasad, the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, recently came under scrutiny for a request to <a href="https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-requests-sarepta-therapeutics-suspend-distribution-elevidys-and-places-clinical-trials-hold">pause</a> shipments of a gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), claiming the genetic treatment is linked to three potential deaths. Earlier this week, the FDA lifted the pause for DMD patients who are still able to walk.
Andrew Nixon, a spokesman for Health and Human Services, confirmed Prasad is no longer with the FDA but did not share details about his departure.
“Dr. Prasad did not want to be a distraction to the great work of the FDA in the Trump administration and has decided to return to California and spend more time with his family,” Nixon said in a statement. “We thank him for his service and the many important reforms he was able to achieve in his time at FDA.”
In a statement issued on July 18, Prasad said the gene therapy &#8212; called Elevidys and made by Sarepta Therapeutics &#8212; needed to be paused for patient safety.
“Protecting patient safety is our highest priority, and the FDA will not allow products whose harms are greater than benefits,&#8221; he said. &#8220;The FDA will halt any clinical trial of an investigational product if clinical trial participants would be exposed to an unreasonable and significant risk of illness or injury,”
FDA Commissioner Marty Makary gave his support to Prasad, seeming to praise the &#8220;swift action.&#8221;
“Today, we’ve shown that this FDA takes swift action when patient safety is at risk,” Makary said. “We believe in access to drugs for unmet medical needs but are not afraid to take immediate action when a serious safety signal emerges.”
Some conservatives criticized Prasad for pausing the therapy. A piece published by RealClearHealth said Prasad was standing with &#8220;progressive health policies,&#8221; and not the president.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
More on the man destroying <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> legacy for helping patients. FDA’s Vinay Prasad Stands with Progressive Health Policies <a href="https://t.co/4wQ3mRuA6U">https://t.co/4wQ3mRuA6U</a>
— Rick Santorum (@RickSantorum) <a href="https://twitter.com/RickSantorum/status/1948769526776025597?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 25, 2025</a></blockquote>
&#8220;Prasad’s hostility toward breakthrough therapies is not confined to policy memos. He has dismissed Elevidys as &#8216;disgusting&#8217; because of its $3.2 million price tag, decried its &#8216;unclear benefit,&#8217; and labeled it a &#8216;useless drug,'&#8221; the piece said. &#8220;He lumped it together with Sarepta’s earlier exon-skipping therapy Exondys 51, calling its approval the result of &#8216;shenanigans&#8217; and &#8216;FDA politics&#8217; overriding science.&#8221;
In the past, Prasad expressed publicly his skepticism of President Donald Trump&#8217;s &#8220;right to try&#8221; policy.
However, Emily Kopp, an investigative journalist from The Daily Caller, suggested Big Pharma was playing a role in the controversy. &#8220;Hit pieces on FDA’s Vinay Prasad are being fed to the right by pharma company Sarepta, the maker of an experimental drug that just killed an eight year old boy,&#8221; she wrote.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Hit pieces on FDA’s Vinay Prasad are being fed to the right by pharma company Sarepta, the maker of an experimental drug that just killed an eight year old boy. <a href="https://t.co/1wCq3ksXWZ">https://t.co/1wCq3ksXWZ</a> <a href="https://t.co/Y8aeRtqBU9">pic.twitter.com/Y8aeRtqBU9</a>
— Emily Kopp (@emilyakopp) <a href="https://twitter.com/emilyakopp/status/1948867147855212627?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 25, 2025</a></blockquote>
Though Prasad was a critic of COVID vaccine protocols and other pandemic-related approaches, his personal politics have also become <a href="https://loomered.com/2025/07/28/exclusive-trump-fda-official-vinay-prasad-once-said-he-stabbed-a-trump-voodoo-doll-to-curse-him/">a topic</a> for some on the Right. Makary, however, recently defended Prasad from attacks. “There’s not a political bone to his body,” Makary <a href="https://www.politico.com/video/2025/07/26/commissioner-marty-makary-defends-fdas-vinay-prasad-1690337">said</a> of Prasad last weekend. “He’s an impeccable scientist, I think one of the greatest scientific minds of our generation.”

Chasing Cancer Summit

FDA Shake-Up: The Controversial Ouster Of The Top Vaccine Regulator

Covid vaccine

COVID-19 Vaccine

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is eyeing another key health panel to reform, apparently due to members&#8217; past &#8220;woke&#8221; comments and recommendations.
The panel in question is called the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which has 16 members. The task force helps determine which cancer screenings and other preventative measures should be covered by insurance.
Sources <a href="https://www.wsj.com/health/healthcare/rfk-health-screening-panel-members-c308cbb0?gaa_at=eafs&amp;gaa_n=ASWzDAj7wH3sv3WoEdu4VAgkX6dfrc6WdD03ZsDFxQbqvweBFhTgu_F4bYLFku3VqJA%3D&amp;gaa_ts=6887e303&amp;gaa_sig=oN9e3u89wwsyjVVX6d5R9XbyL7iYRTsaUIR4FqoqZCoezMLzPT0cDFBgyVzWY0YgrMPHCREJbHmJtRje3S_OQw%3D%3D">told</a> The Wall Street Journal that Kennedy is looking to oust all 16 members and replace them with his own appointments, as he did with a recent vaccine panel. RFK Jr. is reportedly motivated by past &#8220;woke&#8221; comments from the task force members.
The Journal highlighted recent commentary from The American Conservative, which detailed the panel&#8217;s “left-wing ideological orthodoxy.&#8221;
For example, the task force highlighted &#8220;racial discrimination&#8221; when discussing risk factors for anxiety in some children and teenagers. They also referred to pregnant women as “pregnant persons.&#8221; And in a publication on breastfeeding, the panel spoke about the “lasting psychological impact and stigma&#8221; of &#8220;enslaved Black women being forced to act as wet nurses.&#8221;
HHS said in a statement that Kennedy &#8220;looks forward to working with the USPSTF to improve public health.&#8221;
The apparent upcoming move follows RFK Jr. firing all 17 panelists on a highly influential vaccine panel called the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, known as ACIP. His explanation of the removals was to restore public trust, citing conflicts of interest.
Kennedy said ACIP had “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 held its first vote with 8 new members appointed by Kennedy last month, and they voted to recommend a shot that protects infants against RSV, a respiratory virus that can be deadly for babies. The panel has also recommended flu shots without a mercury-based preservative called thimerosal. Kennedy has already moved to cement the recommendation. 
ACIP is expected to tackle the childhood vaccination schedule, which is riling up critics.
The Daily Wire has reached out to HHS for further comment on the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rfk-jr-targets-ultra-processed-foods-in-latest-move-to-maha?author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=RFK+Jr.+Targets+Ultra-Processed+Foods+In+Latest+Move+To+MAHA">RFK Jr. Targets Ultra-Processed Foods In Latest Move To MAHA</a>

RFK Jr. To Oust Key Health Panel Over ‘Woke’ Nonsense

Health and Human Services

Trump Administration

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>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-940129" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_00_21_19.Still001-9.jpeg" alt="" width="640" height="360" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_00_21_19.Still001-9.jpeg 640w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_00_21_19.Still001-9-300x169.jpeg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /></div>
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.
<a class="c-link c-link--focus-visible" href="https://get.dailywire.com/freedom/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://get.dailywire.com/freedom/" data-sk="tooltip_parent">JULY 4 SALE: Get Six Months Of DW+ Free</a>
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>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-940131" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_01_22_04.Still002-2.jpeg" alt="" width="640" height="360" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_01_22_04.Still002-2.jpeg 640w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/06/SEGMENT-HEADERS.00_01_22_04.Still002-2-300x169.jpeg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px" /></div>
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="auto, (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.”

MRN 6.27.25 Thumbnail V1

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

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

COVID-19

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