IN THE NEWS
RFK Jr urges Alzheimer’s screening but blunts key panel that could drive research
July 26, 2026
The US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, has called for better Alzheimer’s screening – but a critical federal panel that might have helped researchers find practical ways to do that has been prevented from meeting for more than a year.
The panel, formally called the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), had planned to issue a recommendation on screening for cognitive decline this year, alongside 13 other topics as varied as autism screening and food allergy prevention.
... full articleI don’t think people should be taking advice — medical advice — from me.
Measles surges dramatically in California among children and young adults
July 23, 2026
Measles cases have doubled in California so far this year compared to last year — and 2026 is barely half over.
California has confirmed 52 measles cases in the first 6½ months of the year; that’s more than double the 25 cases reported in all of 2025.
... full article“Many of the myths and disinformation coming from this administration is likely to confuse parents and consumers of vaccines, and that will result in lower vaccination.”
Report Details RFK Jr.’s Efforts to Overhaul Vaccine Policy
July 14, 2026
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has pursued a sweeping effort to dismantle longstanding U.S. vaccine policy, advancing proposals that included spending billions to investigate a possible link between vaccines and autism, elevating vaccine skeptics within the administration and eliminating the federal childhood immunization schedule, according to a Reuters special report citing current and former administration officials.
... full articleCritics argue that Kennedy’s collective efforts have sown confusion and are likely to further jeopardize already declining vaccination rates across the United States. Without strong and consistent messaging about the benefits of vaccines, that decline will continue, said Osterholm.
After he purged more than a dozen medical experts serving on the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices in June, Kennedy’s new advisory panel met in September of 2025 to discuss and vote on key vaccine recommendations going into the respiratory virus season. Days later, Kennedy and the Trump administration repeated the claim, without evidence, that vaccines contributed to autism, a theory that has been thoroughly debunked for years.
How RFK Jr. Is Influencing America’s Vaccine Playbook
June 26, 2026
Since his confirmation to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has toed the line between backing vaccination as a preventive public health tool and making statements or overseeing developments that threaten to undermine that tool.
Here’s a look at notable vaccine-related moves and remarks made by Kennedy or under his authority since he was sworn in as head of HHS in February of 2025.
... full articleI’m very pro vaccine. I get all six of my kids vaccinated. I believe vaccines save millions of lives, and people ought to be getting vaccinated.