US May Pay the Price for Kennedy’s Vaccine Overhaul as Access Shrinks, Costs Rise

US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr vowed to render America healthy again. Rather, his vaccine policies are jeopardizing the nation’s public health. Supported by Trump’s hard-right base, Kennedy has made choices that make vaccines more expensive, less accessible, and highly politicized.

He assuredly testified in his Senate confirmation that he is pro-vaccine. But in office, he has courted anti-vaccine sentiment that is deep-seated among Trump’s MAGA base. From dismissing experts to cancelling grants, Kennedy’s moves are creating a dangerous precedent.

Kennedy Replaces Vaccine Experts With Skeptics

One of Kennedy’s most terrifying actions was to remove all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) at the CDC. He replaced them with those who are skeptical about vaccines and who agree with him. For decades, ACIP decided which vaccines Americans should receive and when.

Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), insurers are required to cover all ACIP-recommended vaccines — free. Now that skeptics are running the show, free vaccine access is no longer assured.

Helen Chu, a former ACIP member and University of Washington professor, averred, “If we substitute open, evidence-based systems with someone’s beliefs, we create a system that cannot be trusted.”

Vaccines May Soon Carry a Heavy Price

If ACIP halts recommending essential vaccines, Americans will have to pay dearly. The Covid-19 vaccine might become $150 per dose. The MMR vaccine might range between $95 and $280. The HPV vaccine might exceed $300.

ACIP newcomers are about to vote soon on whether to recommend Covid-19, meningococcal disease, HPV, flu, and RSV vaccines — for both kids and adults. Their votes might drastically change vaccine availability.

Additional Cuts and Cancellations

In addition, Kennedy has:

• Cancelled the National Institutes of Health (NIH) programs to create vaccines for pandemics down the line.
• Cut funding for the CDC’s flu vaccine advertising campaign.
• Cut billions in funding for state health agencies, including those in charge of childhood immunization.

Public Health in Jeopardy

US Health Secretary Kennedy’s ideologically motivated vaccine shake-up has the potential to leave Trump’s America vulnerable to avoidable diseases. When vaccine confidence is already in low supply, his actions are likely to further erode trust and exacerbate the gap in health access.

The price tag on these decisions — monetary and medical — may continue to plague the country for decades to come.