▼ Summary
– The American Medical Association strongly opposed President Trump’s executive order to model US childhood vaccine recommendations after Denmark’s, citing a lack of credible scientific evidence.
– The proposed change, first revealed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., would reduce recommended immunizations from 17 to 11 by dropping shots for rotavirus, COVID-19, influenza, and others.
– The order stemmed from a “comprehensive scientific assessment” carried out by two Trump administration political employees with no vaccine policy expertise, both anti-vaccine allies of Kennedy.
– A federal judge temporarily reversed the changes in March, ruling that Kennedy violated federal regulations in implementing them.
– The new executive order reaffirms the plan, calling for the CDC to update the US childhood vaccine schedule using the scientific assessment as a “guiding resource.”
The American Medical Association has forcefully pushed back against an executive order signed by President Trump on Friday, which seeks to align U.S. childhood vaccine guidelines with those of Denmark,a nation that operates under universal healthcare, has far less demographic diversity, and boasts a population roughly equivalent to Maryland’s.
“There is no credible scientific evidence to support” such a change, declared AMA President Bobby Mukkamala in a statement. The existing vaccine schedule, he emphasized, “is built on decades of rigorous research and real-world data, and it is designed to protect children in the US when they are most vulnerable based on our nation’s disease burden.”
The push to revamp federal vaccine recommendations was first floated in January by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent anti-vaccine figure. Under the proposed overhaul, the number of recommended immunizations would drop from 17 to 11, eliminating shots for rotavirus, COVID-19, influenza, meningococcal disease, hepatitis A, and hepatitis B. The initiative traces back to a December executive order from Trump, which called for aligning U. S. vaccine policy with the “best practices from peer, developed countries.”
To execute that directive, Trump administration officials conducted what they described as a “comprehensive scientific assessment,” concluding that Denmark should serve as the model for the U. S. The assessment was authored by two political appointees: Tracy Beth Høeg, a sports medicine doctor, and Martin Kulldorff, a biostatistician. Neither holds expertise in vaccine policy, and both are known allies of Kennedy in the anti-vaccine movement.
At the time, the acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Jim O’Neill,a technology investor by trade,signed off on the changes. However, a federal judge issued a temporary injunction in March that reversed the adjustments, ruling that Kennedy had violated federal regulations in implementing them.
“Crazier and crazier,” Mukkamala remarked, reflecting the medical community’s growing alarm.
Although the federal government is appealing that injunction, Friday’s executive order reaffirms Kennedy’s commitment to adopting Denmark’s strategy. It directs the U. S. to “realign” vaccine policy with “best practices from peer, developed countries,” and designates the Høeg-Kulldorff assessment as a “guiding resource for the Federal Government.” The order also instructs the CDC to “take any appropriate steps to update the United States childhood and adolescent vaccine schedule.”
(Source: Ars Technica)
