On this edition of Your Call’s Media Roundtable, ProPublica’s Patricia Callahan discusses her article “How Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Vaccine Agenda Risks a Resurgence of Deadly Childhood Plagues.” She reports that RFK Jr.’s spread of misinformation could prompt vaccine manufacturers to flee the US market, limiting access for all and permanently compromising public health.
Patricia Callahan writes: “The U.S. government took a half century to build a vaccination system that shielded children from such a fate. Its success depended on two fundamental pillars: parents trusting in vaccines and children having access to them. Both are now in peril, thanks in no small part to the man steering America’s health policy. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who founded an antivaccine group and once likened the immunization of children to a holocaust, is transforming a government that long championed the lifesaving benefits of shots into one that spreads doubts about their safety here and abroad.”
What does the future hold for children and other vulnerable groups amidst RFK Jr.’s attack on vaccines?
Guest:
Patricia Callahan, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter for ProPublica
Resources:
PBS: Judge blocks RFK Jr. from scaling back childhood vaccine recommendations
The New York Times: Kennedy’s Vaccine Agenda Hits Roadblocks, Diminishing His Clout
The Atlantic: RFK Jr. Is Losing His Grip on the CDC
The New York Times: Inside the Turmoil at Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s C.D.C.
