Vaccine Rollbacks Fuel New Disease Outbreaks, Remove RFK Jr

I am writing to urge Congress to intervene immediately in a rapidly escalating public health crisis driven by the Trump administration’s rollback of routine childhood vaccine recommendations and the leadership of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at the Department of Health and Human Services. This crisis is no longer speculative. The CDC has now formally implemented a scaled-back childhood immunization schedule, removing several long-standing vaccines from universal recommendation and shifting them to “shared decision-making” or limited-risk categories. This change is active federal policy, not a draft proposal—and it is unfolding in the middle of rising preventable disease. The consequences are already visible. Measles cases exceeded 2,000 in 2025, with dozens of outbreaks and three confirmed deaths, reversing decades of progress after measles was declared eliminated in the United States in 2000. Whooping cough (pertussis) surged to more than 35,000 cases in 2024, up fivefold from the prior year, with infants bearing the greatest risk—roughly one in three infected babies required hospitalization. At the same time, the 2024–2025 flu season recorded nearly 280 pediatric deaths, the highest number ever reported in CDC seasonal surveillance. These outbreaks are occurring alongside a sustained decline in routine childhood vaccination. Kindergarten coverage has fallen from about 95% before the pandemic to under 93%, leaving hundreds of thousands of children under-immunized and communities vulnerable to rapid spread. New developments make this situation even more alarming. Multiple states—including California and other Western states—have publicly rejected the CDC’s scaled-back guidance, announcing they will continue broader vaccine recommendations to protect children. This unprecedented state-federal split reflects a collapse of confidence in federal health leadership and creates confusion for parents, clinicians, and schools. The damage now extends beyond U.S. borders. Canadian public health authorities have publicly stated that U.S. health institutions can no longer be relied upon for accurate public health information. That represents a serious erosion of international trust and threatens cross-border disease surveillance, outbreak detection, and coordinated response across North America. Public health credibility is not merely reputational—it is operational, and once lost, lives are put at risk. Weakening evidence-based vaccine guidance while sidelining scientific consensus undermines decades of bipartisan public health progress. Elevating a long-time vaccine skeptic to oversee national health policy during active outbreaks is reckless governance. Congress has both the authority and the obligation to act. I urge you to: 1. Hold immediate oversight hearings on the CDC’s revised immunization schedule, including whether established scientific advisory processes were bypassed or politicized. 2. Use legislative and appropriations powers to protect evidence-based vaccine policy, public health communication, and universal access to routine immunizations. 3. Move to remove Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from office. If investigations reveal abuse of authority, deception, or willful endangerment of public health, Congress should pursue all lawful remedies. Preventable disease should never be the price of ideology. Children deserve leadership grounded in science, transparency, and accountability. Please act now.