In summary
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was a central figure in protests against California’s vaccine law. He could potentially shape U.S. health care policy under the Trump administration.
Five years ago, hundreds of people packed the halls of the state Capitol to protest a bill that would have tightened California’s vaccine regulations. Outside, music was blaring about the revolution and people held placards that read: “Vaccine mandate violates bodily autonomy.”
A familiar, idolized face emerges from a sea of red-clad protesters. by anti-vaccine activists:Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
He was the guest of honor in one of the largest public health showdowns the state has experienced in recent years. Ultimately, he and his supporters were defeated— Congress passed the law Crack down on fraudulent or inappropriate medical exemptions for required childhood vaccines.
Today, Kennedy finds himself on a much bigger stage, with potentially much more influence and power. President-elect Donald Trump has nominated a former environmental lawyer and controversial vaccine critic to be secretary of Health and Human Services and oversee the nation’s health care policy.
He is known for making false and sometimes dangerous claims about medicine and public health. Perhaps the most infamous He linked vaccines to autism. — This claim has been proven false many times.
Now that Kennedy is running for the top job at the federal health department, health leaders and advocates in California and across the country are raising concerns and preparing to combat a potential wave of medical disinformation.
Some believe that if a vaccine skeptic takes over the leadership of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, more Americans will refuse vaccinations, potentially putting lives at risk. There is also the possibility that the anti-vaccination movement in California will become more active.
Dr. Richard Pan, a pediatrician who, as a state senator, authored the 2019 Medical Exemptions Act and another law that repealed personal belief exemptions for childhood vaccines, said it’s hard to have a health secretary questioning vaccines. He said it was “dangerous” and “worrying”. ”
“I imagine there will be a lot more direct attacks on individual scientists and individual people, and I imagine that maybe I’ll be taken somewhere by those people, too. RFK Jr. I don’t think they have forgotten about me yet,” he said.
Pan said he met Kennedy twice when he visited Sacramento to oppose the bill.
By enforcing these laws, Mr. Pang became the target of harassment and attacks, and at one point Anti-vaccine activists shoved him. When Pan was walking down the streets of Sacramento. At the protest, anti-vaccination activists pasted up posters with the word “liar” written in red over Pan’s face.
Now, those who rallied against his vaccine bill are celebrating Kennedy’s possible induction into Trump’s cabinet and calling for “justice” through social media posts.
In one of their final arguments, Pan publicly called for Kennedy to be banned from social media platforms when Kennedy promoted coronavirus disinformation. In contrast, Kennedy told the Sacramento Bee Pan’s request for censorship was said to be anti-American.
These days, President Kennedy has taken a more measured approach when answering questions about vaccines. Following Trump’s victory he told NBC News He said he is not trying to take vaccines off the market, but rather advocates for an informed choice.
“If the vaccine works for someone, I’m not going to take them away,” he said.
What can RFK Jr. do as health secretary?
If confirmed as Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kennedy would oversee a $1.7 trillion budget and about a dozen government agencies. He will be responsible for managing pandemic preparedness and will be responsible for a wide range of issues from health insurance to food safety.
Experts say any controversial changes are likely to face litigation, potentially delaying or derailing Kennedy’s proposal. Still, there are some ways that anti-vaccine sentiment within the federal government could undermine public health gains in states.
For example, school vaccination mandates are issued by states, and the federal government cannot directly change them, but public health funding, such as grants sent to states to help fund vaccinations, Dorit Reese, a professor at the University of California School of Law, said the decision could lead to an injunction. San Francisco.
As secretary of health, Mr. Kennedy would also have the power to appoint members of an advisory committee to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to make recommendations on vaccination practices.
Rees added that the health secretary also has powers to promote or restrict access to new vaccines, which would be especially important if there was another pandemic.
The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall declare a public health emergency; Issue emergency use authorization For unapproved vaccines. When COVID-19 vaccinations were first made available to the public in December 2020, they were authorized under this emergency designation. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration fully approved the vaccine for people 16 and older nine months later.
A secretary hostile to vaccines could block or revoke emergency use authorizations. That means vaccine manufacturers “will either have to apply for full approval at this point or not sell the vaccine,” Reese said.
Kennedy told NBC that if he had been secretary at the time, he would not have “directly blocked” the emergency use of coronavirus vaccines, but rather made sure “we have the best science in our country.”
But in the midst of the pandemic, Kennedy helped stoke distrust of coronavirus vaccines. In 2021, He called it “the most lethal vaccine ever created.””, opposing Louisiana’s proposal to require virus vaccinations for schoolchildren.
California’s vaccination mandate
The California Legislature passed it in 2010. Legislation to add pertussis vaccine boosterIt has been added to the immunization schedule for teenagers going to school, which protects against whooping cough. Katherine Flores Martin, executive director of the California Immunization Coalition, a nonprofit that advocates for vaccines, remembers that when lawmakers were considering the bill, roughly 18 people showed up to oppose it. He said he was there.
Back in 2015 and 2019, opposition to vaccine laws led to large-scale protests involving hundreds of people. “It got wild,” Flores Martin said.
“The vast majority of parents still vaccinate their children,” she says. “We hear a lot about hesitancy, but hesitancy does not necessarily lead to not getting vaccinated.”
The California Department of Public Health reports that 94% of California kindergartners received required vaccines in the 2021-22 school year.
But Flores-Martin acknowledged that opposition has grown louder in California, making it more difficult to pass a vaccine bill. She believes this is partly due to the increasing role of misinformation shared on social media platforms.
State public health officials did not respond to requests for an interview by deadline.
2014 was a remarkable year in public health for several reasons. That year, whooping cough infections reached their peak. More than 11,000 cases have been reported in the state.the highest number ever. Another factor was the measles outbreak at Disneyland in December of the same year. Most measles cases reported in US within 20 years. Most of the cases were in unvaccinated children. The outbreak resulted in hospitalizations, but no deaths were reported.
In California, vaccines that protect against measles, mumps, and rubella are Of the doses required for children going to school. This also applies to polio and hepatitis B vaccines, among others. The measles outbreak prompted Congress in 2015 to eliminate personal belief and religious exemptions to required vaccinations.
Lawmakers then returned in 2019 and approved a second law authorizing the state Department of Public Health. Review and revoke inappropriate medical exemptions. Medical exemptions must be made by a doctor and are limited to a small group of people, such as people who are allergic to ingredients in the vaccine.
A 2019 law will increase the medical exemption rate for kindergarten children. Decrease to lowest level since 2015-2016According to the state Department of Public Health. However, research has shown that patient numbers have declined as routine doctor visits have been disrupted during the pandemic. Kindergarten children who are not used to the times Vaccinations have been stepped up.
Health advocates and experts say it’s more important than ever to instill confidence in vaccines and proven public health measures. Flores Martin said doctors and health advocates need to come together to promote vaccine education to maintain high immunization rates. The message is important, she said.
Supported by the California Healthcare Foundation (CHCF). The foundation works to ensure people have access to the care they need, when they need it, at an affordable price. For more information, please visit www.chcf.org.
