If the war over mask mandates and COVID vaccines feels like something you could leave -- gratefully -- in the past, think again. Health and Human Services Director Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is reportedly working with President Donald Trump to ban the COVID vaccine, which was created during Trump's first term.
Political watchdog The Daily Beast broke the news today, writing, "Dr. Aseem Malhotra, a British cardiologist who has repeatedly claimed in the face of scientific consensus that the vaccines are more dangerous than the virus, told the Daily Beast that Kennedy’s stance is shared by “influential” members of President Donald Trump’s family. Like Kennedy himself, no Trumps hold any scientific qualifications."
RFK has long been a vaccine critic and skeptic, claiming they could lead to autism and other ailments, although, as many have noted, he holds no medical degree. He's a lawyer by training.
Malhotra leads the lobbying group for Make America Healthy Again, which is Kennedy's effort to influence and control public policy where health guidelines and statues are concerned. RFK has said many times that he believes processed foods, lack of exercise, preservatives, and food dyes cause most of America's ailments. MAHA is his effort to turn the tide.
"(Malhotra) told the Beast that many of those closest to RFK Jr. have told him they “cannot understand” why the vaccine continues to be prescribed, and that a decision to remove the vaccine from the U.S. market pending further research will come “within months,” even if it is likely to cause “fear of chaos” and bring with it major legal ramifications," the publication reported.
Trump has always had a cryptic relationship with the vaccine because on one hand, he claimed victory when it was approved faster than just about anyone thought it could be, and it ended an international pandemic that had shut down many aspects of life around the globe. But on the other hand, his supporters considered masking to prevent the spread to be a sign of weakness and shutting schools and businesses was unnecessary.
So, when would the vaccine disappear, if the MAHA leader has his way?
“It could [happen] in a number of stages, including learning more about the data,” Malhotra explained, adding that the Advisory Committee is already reviewing so-called “vaccine injuries.” But, he added, “it could also come with one clean decision.”
But wanting and winning are two different things and the Trump Administration is already embroiled in a lawsuit with physicians over changing the guidelines for the COVID vaccine. the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Physicians and the American Public Health Association filed a federal lawsuit last month over RFK removing pregnant women and children from the vaccine schedule.
The lawsuit demands that the change be reversed. "Over the past several months, experts have been sidelined, evidence has been undermined and our nation's vaccine infrastructure is now threatened," Dr. Susan Kressly, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said about the effort.