Robert F. Kennedy Jr., now at the helm of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has set off a political and scientific firestorm with his aggressive campaign to overhaul the nation’s vaccine system—a campaign that critics say could push covid-19 shots and other vaccines off the U.S. market. The stakes are enormous, with public health leaders, pharmaceutical companies, and advocacy groups all raising alarms about the potential consequences of Kennedy’s moves, which have rapidly accelerated since the spring of 2025.
According to reporting from KFF Health News and the Daily Beast, Kennedy’s strategy has been multifaceted and, in the eyes of many, radical. High on his list of targets is the federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP), a fund established in 1988 that has paid out over $5 billion to individuals claiming injury from vaccines. The program, funded by a small excise tax on vaccines, shields drugmakers from most liability, allowing them to produce vaccines without the constant threat of crippling lawsuits. But Kennedy and his anti-vaccine allies argue that the system is broken and in need of reform.
In a July 28 post on X, Kennedy declared, “the VICP is broken, and I intend to fix it.” HHS officials have maintained that Kennedy is not anti-vaccine, with spokesperson Vianca Rodriguez Feliciano stating in an email, “Secretary Kennedy is not anti-vaccine—he is pro-safety, pro-transparency, and pro-accountability.” Still, behind the scenes, Kennedy’s actions have told a different story, as he has methodically placed vaccine skeptics in key decision-making roles at both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), according to KFF Health News.
The most controversial element of Kennedy’s plan involves a push to add autism and allergies to the list of compensable injuries under the VICP. This move would allow families to seek compensation for these conditions, which Kennedy and his inner circle have repeatedly—though without scientific backing—linked to vaccines. Legal experts and pharmaceutical executives warn that such a change could bankrupt the fund. Dorit Reiss, a professor at the University of California Law San Francisco, told KFF Health News, “Given the rate of autism, if a lot of cases are brought, that could bankrupt the program.” If the fund dries up, vaccine makers—already operating in a low-profit sector—could stop producing immunizations to avoid costly lawsuits, threatening the nation’s vaccine supply.
British cardiologist and Kennedy advisor Aseem Malhotra has been a vocal proponent of these changes. In an interview with the Daily Beast published August 25, 2025, Malhotra claimed that Kennedy and President Donald Trump are preparing to pull mRNA covid-19 vaccines from the U.S. market “within months.” He said that many close to Kennedy “cannot understand” why the vaccine continues to be prescribed and anticipate a decision to remove it “pending further research,” even if it causes “fear of chaos” and major legal ramifications. Malhotra, who once supported covid-19 vaccines, has since become a prominent critic, citing what most experts deem fatally flawed data linking the vaccines to heart attacks and other cardiac events—claims the British Heart Foundation and other authorities have widely refuted.
Malhotra’s influence extends deep into Kennedy’s camp. He serves as a leading adviser to the lobbying group Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Action and helped fundraise for Kennedy’s failed 2024 presidential campaign. MAHA Action’s president, Tony Lyons, told KFF Health News, “Make no mistake, this is a revolution that will change the face of public health policy. Americans are demanding radical transparency and gold-standard science.” The group has launched a six-figure ad campaign to promote Kennedy and Trump administration health initiatives, fueling speculation that Kennedy may be eyeing a 2028 presidential run.
Since taking over HHS, Kennedy has wasted little time putting his stamp on federal vaccine policy. He purged the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel, removing industry groups like the American Medical Association and the American Nurses Association, and installed vaccine skeptics in their place. The newly constituted panel recommended against flu vaccines containing a preservative erroneously linked to autism. Kennedy also pulled $500 million in federal funding from mRNA vaccine research, including for an improved covid-19 shot, and ended recommendations for children and pregnant women to receive covid-19 vaccines, bypassing the traditional process of advisory committee input.
The White House, for its part, has tried to distance itself from speculation about dramatic policy changes. White House spokesperson Kush Desai told the Daily Beast, “The Administration is relying on Gold Standard Science and is committed to radical transparency to make decisions that affect all Americans. Unless announced by the Administration, however, any discussion about HHS policy should be dismissed as baseless speculation.” A spokesperson for HHS echoed this stance, stating the agency “does not comment on potential or future policy decisions.”
Nevertheless, Kennedy’s efforts have already triggered a wave of legal and political backlash. He faces lawsuits from both anti-vaccine groups—such as Children’s Health Defense, which he founded—and mainstream public health organizations like the American Academy of Pediatrics. One suit from Children’s Health Defense claims Kennedy failed to launch a task force to study vaccine safety, a move that his allies reportedly see as a friendly effort to achieve a mutual goal. But other lawsuits, including those from public health groups, are anything but friendly, with critics accusing Kennedy of endangering lives by restricting vaccine access and undermining established scientific consensus.
Some of the most dramatic fallout has come from Kennedy’s dealmaking within the FDA. In July 2025, Kennedy struck a deal with Trump and his staff to retain Vinay Prasad, a known critic of immunizations, in a key regulatory position. The arrangement involved splitting the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research into two operations, with Kennedy empowered to select the person overseeing vaccines. Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb warned on CNBC that the move “would be very destructive to the agency.” After briefly leaving, Prasad is now returning to the FDA, though his exact role remains unclear.
Kennedy’s campaign has also sparked outrage among politicians and former officials. Senator Edward Markey (D-Mass.) blasted Kennedy’s decision to halt mRNA vaccine funding, saying on X, “This is reckless. This is dangerous. This will cost lives. We must fight back.” Jerome Adams, the U.S. Surgeon General during the previous Trump administration, echoed the sentiment: “I’ve tried to be objective and non-alarmist in response to current HHS actions—but, quite frankly, this move is going to cost lives.”
Despite the mounting criticism, Kennedy and his supporters remain undeterred. They argue that their agenda is about transparency and safety, not opposition to vaccines themselves. Yet, as public health leaders like Angela Rasmussen of the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization at the University of Saskatchewan warn, “He’s using a bunch of different mechanisms and there really are no guardrails. People are going to catch on but it’s not going to be enough to stop the waves of deaths, and deaths of children.”
As the nation waits to see whether Kennedy and his allies will indeed attempt to pull covid-19 shots from the market, one thing is clear: the debate over vaccine policy has never been more contentious, or more consequential, for the health of millions of Americans.
