Opinion: RFK Jr.’s attack on vaccine experts endangers every American
“Our nation’s top health official cannot be trusted to protect America’s children and their families,” writes Richard Besser, pediatrician and president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
In my three decades as a practicing pediatrician, I worked at community clinics across the country. The children in my care came from all walks of life — some with private insurance, others covered under Medicaid, and many with no coverage at all. But every child, regardless of circumstance, deserved the same thing: the best protection possible against deadly, preventable diseases. That meant ensuring they were vaccinated fully and on time.
Like countless other physicians, I relied on the independent, evidence-based recommendations of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to support the patients in my care. While ACIP is unknown to most of the public, its role is critical to our health. For more than 60 years, ACIP has informed vaccine recommendations that physicians provide to patients, saving lives and improving health. Yet ACIP’s pivotal role in our nation’s vaccine system has now been upended due to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s decision on Monday to indiscriminately fire the entire committee. This misguided decision sends a devastating message: Our nation’s top health official cannot be trusted to protect America’s children and their families.
