RFK Jr. discusses overhauling childhood vaccination program: 'Nothing is going to be off limits'

On Tuesday, the Trump administration's new Health and Human Services secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said a new commission will examine the childhood vaccination schedule as a possible cause of the country's chronic disease epidemic.

"Nothing is going to be off limits”, Kennedy said of the matter, as reported by The Hill.

The Republican's Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) efforts is a response to the epidemic that is severely affecting the American population, something he has identified as a priority on his agenda. Kennedy Jr. notes that conditions such as obesity, diabetes, autism and mental illness are part of this epidemic.

“Some of the possible factors we will investigate were formally taboo or insufficiently scrutinized. Childhood vaccine schedule, electromagnetic radiation, glyphosate, other pesticides, ultra-processed foods, artificial food allergies, SSRI [anti-depressants] and other psychiatric drugs, PFAS, PFOA, microplastics — nothing is going to be off limits," Kennedy told Department of Health (HHS) staff.

Kennedy Jr. further pledged that the work of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services would be conducted with "radical transparency” and said he will crack down on perceived industry influence and conflicts of interest. 

“Both science and democracy flourish from the free and unimpeded flow of information,” Kennedy said. “We will remove conflicts of interest in the committees and research partners whenever possible (…) we will shut the revolving door to reestablish public trust.” 

In that same vein, President Donald Trump last week signed an executive order and launched the Make America Health Again (MAHA) plan and named Kennedy Jr. at its head.

According to the executive order signed by Trump for the creation of the Make America Healthy Again the intent of this commission is to "re-direct our national focus, in the public and private sectors, toward understanding and drastically lowering chronic disease rates and ending childhood chronic disease. This includes fresh thinking on nutrition, physical activity, healthy lifestyles, over-reliance on medication and treatments, the effects of new technological habits, environmental impacts, and food and drug quality and safety. We must restore the integrity of the scientific process by protecting expert recommendations from inappropriate influence and increasing transparency regarding existing data. We must ensure our healthcare system promotes health rather than just managing disease."

Kennedy Jr. is not anti-vaccine

Some detractors try to say that the new U.S. health secretary is antivaccine, however he himself has publicly stated not to be on multiple occasions, but to be in favor of safety.

"I am pro-safety. I worked for years to raise awareness about the mercury and toxic chemicals in fish, but that didn’t make me anti-fish. All of my kids are vaccinated, and I believe vaccines have a critical role in health care."