This article was originally published to Watchdog Weekly. Read it here.
Americans rang in 2026 with champagne. The Trump administration rang in a public health nightmare. On Monday, Health Secretary Kennedy further enshrined vaccine hesitancy into national policy by announcing an abrupt overhaul of the national immunization schedule.
The number of federally recognized illnesses that warrant universal vaccine recommendations have been reduced from 17 to 11. The government now only encourages “high risk” groups to seek immunization against meningitis, hepatitis A and B, dengue, and RSV. Furthermore, vaccinating against rotavirus, flu, COVID-19, meningitis, and hepatitis A and B has been reclassified as optional for parents under “shared clinical decision-making.” The federally recommended number of HPV vaccine doses was also halved.
Chelsea Cirruzzo and Helen Branswell of STAT described the action as “the most significant reshaping of the vaccine schedule since Trump took office,” and yet none of the proper decision-making procedures were followed. The authority was reportedly limited to the cadre of vaccine antagonists that lead Trump’s health agencies, like FDA Commissioner Marty Makary and NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya.
Neither the CDC’s National Center For Immunization and Respiratory Diseases nor its Advisory Commission on Immunization Practices (ACIP) were consulted. Even worse, the scientific rationale for the decision rests on a dubious report authored by Tracy Beth Høeg and Martin Kulldorff, a pair of long-time anti-vaccine advocates who now hold key roles at FDA and HHS respectively.
That such a massive overhaul of national vaccine policy can be characterized by power abuses, opaque decision-making processes, and unsubstantiated science is extremely concerning. It is also, unfortunately, unsurprising.
If you’ve been following Trump 2.0 as closely as we have, you’ll recognize that manufactured chaos is a feature of its approach to governance, not a bug. The MAHA administration has spent the last year chipping away at the public’s health, and it’s important to remember how we got here.
Day One: WHO Exit and the Federal Freeze
The assault began as soon as Trump took office. On January 20, he ordered the U.S. out of the World Health Organization, cutting American scientists off from global vaccine and flu strain planning. The next day came an “immediate pause” on federal health agency activity—no regulations, no press releases, no social media posts, no website updates. By January 22, the NIH had canceled its National Vaccine Advisory Committee meeting.
February: Purges and Postponements
February escalated the assault. Kennedy was confirmed HHS Secretary despite refusing to reject his belief that vaccines cause autism. Within 24 hours, 5,000 federal health workers—including dozens at NIH’s Vaccine Research Center—were targeted for layoffs. On February 20, RFK Jr. indefinitely postponed the first ACIP meeting of Trump’s second term. And by the end of the month, FDA had canceled its advisory meeting for 2025-26 flu shots as the administration considered eliminating Biden-era funding for H5N1 bird flu research.
March: Bird Flu Fears and Research Lockdowns
In March, Kennedy publicly opposed vaccinating poultry against H5N1, warning of “mutant factories” without evidence. Halfway through the month NIH terminated over 40 grants on vaccine hesitancy because studying why Americans avoid vaccines “isn’t a priority.”
(STAT, March 7, 2025): “Clampdowns on NIH research have blocked the agency from sharing materials with collaborators or filing patents, effectively freezing progress on vaccines and therapeutics.”
Spring: Novavax Delays and the ACIP Purge
April and May were defined by repeated reporting of delays for the full approval for Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine. When the vaccine was finally approved on May 17, its use license was limited to elderly and high-risk adults. By mid-June, RFK Jr. had notably escalated his war on vaccines by purging ACIP and reconstituting it with hand-picked acolytes. The Health Secretary reneged on plans to release a conflict of interest report on ACIP’s new members while continuing to rubber stamp their controversial recommendations.
(CNN, May 14, 2025): “I don’t want to seem evasive, but I don’t think people should be taking medical advice from me.” — Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Summer: Research Cuts and Leadership Firings
By the start of summer, HHS had banned major medical organizations from ACIP meetings, canceled nearly $500 million in mRNA research, and restricted COVID-19 vaccines for children under five. CDC Director Susan Monarez lasted a month before being fired on August 28, for refusing to endorse vaccine recommendations that cast doubt over immunization efficacy. Within hours, Monarez’s ousting had contributed to four more resignations from senior CDC officials.
Fall and Winter
November and December delivered the coup de grâce: FDA was pushing the notion that suggested COVID-19 vaccines “probably contributed” to multiple children’s deaths and ACIP had voted to end universal hepatitis B vaccines recommendations for newborns.
It’s important to keep all this context in mind as the MAHA administration continues its assault. The situation could not be more dire. U.S. vaccination rates are declining at the same time measles and flu outbreaks surge across the country. Every canceled meeting, every blocked grant, and every delayed vaccine was a gamble with children’s lives. Without intervention, the consequences—measurable in illness, outbreaks, and preventable deaths—will only grow more severe.
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