Families USA

10/10/2025 | News release | Distributed by Public on 10/10/2025 10:58

Sowing Distrust and Dismantling Science: Escalating Threats to Vaccine Access

Vaccines represent some of the greatest public health achievements in history, building on science, expert policy and public trust to strengthen America's security and protect millions of lives across generations. From the U.S. eradication of smallpox in 1949 and polio in 1979, to Operation Warp Speed in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccines have long been a bipartisan triumph of public health, uniting leaders across political parties in the fight against deadly but preventable diseases. Today, that legacy is under direct attack.

The State of Play on Vaccine Policy and Access

Attacking Public Health Infrastructure

President Trump and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. are actively dismantling the nation's trusted vaccine infrastructure, firing every member of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and replacing them with individuals tied to anti-vaccine rhetoric. This newly politicized ACIP has already reversed evidence-based policy, revived debunked claims about vaccine safety and recommended changes to vaccine schedules that undermine access to safe, effective and affordable vaccines, jeopardizing the health of our nation's families. One of the first moves of the new ACIP regime, the committee recommended removing Thimerosal - a preservative used in about 4% of flu vaccines that has substantial empirical evidence backing longstanding CDC and FDA positions affirming its safety. This unprecedented and unfounded decision was rolled out as part of a broader Trump administration effort to revive false claims attempting to link vaccines to autism.

At the same time, the independence of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as marked by its scientific integrity, has been seriously compromised. Reports of career scientists being fired, including the recent firing of CDC director Susan Monarez for refusing to rubber-stamp unscientific vaccines policies, signal an alarming erosion of institutional integrity. The CDC director determines whether to adopt ACIP recommendations, which then determines which vaccines will be covered by health insurance at no cost sharing to consumers. Interfering with these positions in order to push through a myopic agenda violates the credibility of the very federal agencies that have been charged by Congress with safeguarding the health security of American families.

Restricting Access and Affordability, Weakening Protections

Political interference in the independent, scientific process that has historically supported recommendations based on vaccine safety and efficacy directly undermines access to cost-free vaccine coverage. This puts further strain on the ability of health care providers to deliver a comprehensive set of health care services to keep their patients healthy. Current laws ensure that ACIP recommended vaccines are covered without cost-sharing through Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces and the Vaccines for Children program. Changes to ACIP recommendations, like narrowing eligibility for COVID-19 vaccines and replacing universal recommendations with "individual-based decision making," will likely limit what immunizations pharmacists and other allied health professionals can administer and further restrict vaccine access, especially in rural areas.

Secretary Kennedy has cancelled $500 million in mRNA research, including efforts to protect against emerging threats like bird flu, which not only endangers future pandemic preparedness but undermines American leadership in medical innovation.

The Cost of Sowing Vaccine Misinformation

Forcing Americans to pay out of pocket for vaccines will simply be untenable for the millions of Americans already facing medical debt and being pushed to the brink of financial ruin due to rising health care costs. Every barrier erected - from slashed research funding to narrowed eligibility to weakened health insurance protections - erodes public trust in our medical and public health system, reduces uptake of life-saving vaccines and increases the risk of Americans becoming sick and even dying from preventable disease. This is not reform. This is deliberate abandonment of evidence-based medicine and public health.

Congress Must Act

We are at a dangerous crossroads. The dismantling of scientific committees, the politicization of vaccine policy, and the erosion of public trust around evidence-based medicine and health care threaten to undo decades of progress. Congress must assert its authority to restore independent science, safeguard vaccine access and coverage, and protect the nation's health security from current and future threats. Families USA will continue to monitor future ACIP meetings and changes to the vaccine schedule and infrastructure and will provides updates for advocates and families on impacts to vaccine coverage and access.

Families USA published this content on October 10, 2025, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on October 10, 2025 at 16:58 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]