Investigate RFK Jr’s Dangerous Abandonment of COVID Vaccine Recommendations

COVID-19 has killed over 1 million Americans, yet HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is systematically dismantling the vaccine policies that protect our communities. In May, he unilaterally removed COVID vaccine recommendations for healthy children and pregnant women. Today, his hand-picked advisory panel voted to end routine COVID vaccination recommendations for all Americans, replacing evidence-based policy with “shared clinical decision-making” – bureaucratic language that makes vaccines harder to get. This reckless abandonment of public health policy will cost lives and disproportionately harm the most vulnerable Americans. These policy changes create immediate financial barriers that block vaccine access. Insurance coverage follows CDC recommendations – when vaccines lose recommended status, insurers stop covering them, forcing families to pay over $100 per dose out-of-pocket. The federal Vaccines for Children program also follows these recommendations, meaning uninsured children lose access to free vaccines. States now require prescriptions for COVID vaccines, adding another hurdle that particularly harms low-income families and communities of color who already struggle with healthcare access. Kennedy has replaced medical expertise with political ideology. He fired all 17 expert members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and installed just 8 new members, several of whom are vaccine skeptics without relevant medical qualifications. During today’s meeting, these appointees questioned the safety of mRNA vaccines despite hundreds of millions of safely administered doses. Meanwhile, every major medical organization – the American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of OB-GYNs, American Academy of Family Physicians – continues recommending COVID vaccination based on scientific evidence. I demand you take immediate action to restore science-based vaccine policy. Seven states have already formed independent alliances to maintain evidence-based recommendations separate from federal interference. Congress must investigate Kennedy’s politicization of public health agencies and restore proper scientific oversight. The American people deserve vaccine policies based on medical evidence, not political ideology.