Mar. 6, 2026

RFK Jr. Has Made a Shambles of National Vaccine Policies

By Cathrine Wheeler

Each October, my elderly parents ask me for recommendations on which vaccines they need. They have trusted my advice as both their daughter and an internal medicine physician. Vaccine recommendations can be confusing in the best of times. Now is not the best of times.

My advice to my parents remained the same — I encouraged them to get the yearly flu and COVID vaccines. Vaccines don't totally prevent either illness, but they can make a significant difference in how sick they might get.

However, our vaccine conversation was more fraught than ever this year. Recent national regulatory changes have created new complexities and barriers — to the point that vaccine access now varies by state. I wasn't sure they would be able to easily receive the vaccines. My parents aren't the only ones caught in this quagmire. Patients are confused and skeptical; doctors are frustrated and worried.

This was intentional.

Over the last several months, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has significantly weakened the vaccine infrastructure that has saved countless lives. This has included changes in vaccine approval and vaccine schedules that have had no basis in new research. Lifelong vaccine experts have been fired from important advisory committees, and their inexperienced replacements have created mayhem at vaccine advisory meetings. Secretary Kennedy has canceled $500 million in vaccine research, leaving us unprepared for future outbreaks. He has demonstrated none of the knowledge and leadership necessary to respond to our worst measles outbreak(s) in decades. He has fired or driven out trusted experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention because they thought and acted independently and professionally, thereby eroding trust in the CDC by front-line doctors who have long relied on the organization for vaccine guidance.

Recently, he instructed the CDC to add a statement to its website asserting "the claim that vaccines do not cause autism is not an evidence-based claim." This statement is blatantly untrue — there is a strong collection of research evidence accumulated over decades showing that vaccines do not cause autism.

The whole situation is a mess.

Chaos and confusion sow mistrust in vaccines and the doctors who recommend them, which puts people and communities at greater risk. Changing government policy also changes insurance coverage and pharmacies' abilities to order and administer vaccines. Last fall, some pharmacies delayed ordering vaccines due to this pandemonium. For now, most insurance companies have agreed to pay for vaccines through the end of 2026 — but coverage beyond that is unclear. Should things continue in this direction, patients will face increasing difficulty finding and paying for vaccines in the future. I am grateful to live in a state that promptly responded by allowing pharmacists to keep giving vaccines. My parents aren't so lucky — where they live, people need to get a medical order to get the vaccine.

Vaccine policy should be a dynamic process; over time there are regular changes in vaccine recommendations based on new research. Change can be confusing. What's new this year is the onslaught of changes that are not based on research. The public has had understandable questions about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines; the current administration is cherry-picking studies to inflame these concerns. While vaccines can occasionally cause side effects and complications, the consensus among experts is that the tiny risk from vaccines is eclipsed by the much larger risks that come with having the illness while unvaccinated. Yet this nuanced understanding was ignored by the authorities enacting Secretary Kennedy's vaccine philosophy.

Eighty-eight percent of Americans believe the benefits of childhood vaccines outweigh the risks. Many are worried about future access to vaccines. The fear, as we have seen, has been warranted.

Yet there is hope. People and organizations have been standing up to preserve vaccine integrity and availability. Some CDC experts have shown great courage in resisting unscientific vaccine policy. Washington state has taken steps to ensure vaccine availability to its citizens and has aligned with a number of states to create a regional health care authority. Medical professional organizations including the American College of Physicians, American Academy of Family Physicians and American Academy of Pediatrics have acted with other organizations to preserve vaccine availability and called for the removal of Secretary Kennedy.

That's a good start, but it is not enough to confidently ensure broad access to vaccines in the future. There are other things we can do in the short term:

• People can choose to be vaccinated. Not just for one's own health, but for the good of the community. Vaccination remains one of the best tools we have to reduce serious illness and death (especially in infants and young children).
• Patients can speak with trusted health care providers about concerns and confusion about vaccine recommendations.
• Medical professionals can look beyond the current CDC for supplemental guidance on vaccine recommendations. The Infectious Disease Society of America and the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy are two entities working to consolidate and communicate reliable vaccine information.
• Doctors can join their respective medical organizations (American College of Physicians, American Academy of Family Physicians, etc.). These nonprofit organizations include doctors across the political spectrum and are working to create guidelines and advocate for the health of patients.

I remain optimistic that my parents will still be able to get their vaccines, even if it takes extra effort. I hope that people will always have easy access to current and future vaccines, to protect their own well-being and the health of our communities. I want that for my parents. I want that for my patients. I want that for all of us.

Cathrine Wheeler, MD, is a general internal medicine physician practicing in Seattle. Originally published in The Seattle Times on Dec. 7, 2025.

This article was featured in the March/April 2026 issue of WSMA Reports, WSMA's print magazine.