The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices — which provides the evidence-based recommendations that determine the US vaccine schedule — was dissolved by RFK Jr.'s HHS in early 2025. A reconstituted committee has been formed with different membership, reflecting different priorities. The FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee — which evaluates vaccine safety and efficacy data — has been similarly restructured. These committees exist specifically to ensure vaccine recommendations are based on independent scientific review, not political judgment. Dismantling them removes that check.
At HHS more broadly, DOGE-driven cuts eliminated approximately 10,000 employees in the first months — representing roughly 20% of the department. The CDC, which employs the epidemiologists, disease detectives, and public health researchers who monitor and respond to infectious disease outbreaks, lost an estimated third of its staff. Some of these were probationary employees — including recently hired disease specialists. Others took the "deferred resignation" buyout offered across the federal government. The result: a CDC with dramatically reduced capacity to detect, track, and respond to disease outbreaks at exactly the moment the United States is experiencing its largest measles resurgence in decades.
RFK Jr.'s record before taking office is documented and specific: he promoted the long-debunked claim that vaccines cause autism, a claim based on a fraudulent 1998 study whose author had his medical license revoked. He promoted the claim that COVID vaccines contained "microchips." He falsely claimed that COVID vaccines killed more people than COVID. He spread false claims about water fluoridation. His organization, Children's Health Defense, was found by academic researchers at MIT and elsewhere to be among the top five sources of anti-vaccine misinformation on social media. This is the person now responsible for the United States' public health infrastructure.
This post distinguishes between documented facts, allegations, and analysis. Where motive, intent, corruption, or illegality remains disputed in the public record, the text attributes that judgment to court findings, official records, direct quotes, or the reporting linked below.
- CDC staff reductions — approximately one-third lost through DOGE cuts and buyouts; documented by CBPP, TIME, Partnership for Public Service.
- ACIP dissolution — February 2025; HHS dissolved advisory committee; New York Times, Washington Post.
- Children's Health Defense — MIT research; top five source of online vaccine misinformation.
- Measles cases — CDC documented rising 2025-2026; first major resurgence in decades linked to vaccination rate decline.
- RFK Jr. specific claims — documented by FactCheck.org, PolitiFact, Reuters fact-checks; autism-vaccine link specifically documented as debunked.