On June 9, 2025, less than four months after being sworn in, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK) fired all 17 sitting members of the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices 

(ACIP) — the very experts who guide the nation’s vaccine recommendations. Within just three days, he replaced them with his own anti-vaccine appointees.

The moment marked the shift that has already undermined decades of evidence-based medicine and continues to destroy public trust. As Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), RFK is failing the U.S. public and poses a dangerous threat to our population. 

RFK’s appointment by U.S. President Donald J. Trump marked the very first time an anti-vax person has been placed in direct control of federal agencies responsible for national health policy and scientific guidance. His new role now influences groups such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). 

For the ACIP, what should be a careful vetting process for new advisory members — designed to ensure that each candidate has the credentials and expertise necessary to shape national immunization guidelines — was discarded overnight. Professor of Pediatrics and Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. Pia Pannaraj (Kaitlyn ‘28) explained, it is “a vetting process that usually takes up to 2 years,” but now “people are not adequately screened for knowledge or conflicts of interest.” 

The consequences of RFK leadership have already begun to unfold. “His anti-vaccine stance is causing public mistrust,” said Physician and Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. Kalpana Natrajan (Kalina (‘28) and Sammy (‘30)). As RFK and President Trump further empower vaccine skeptics, Dr. Natrajan suspects that their erosion of trust “will lead to lower vaccination rates and ultimately higher rates of infectious diseases.” 

The new ACIP, now stacked with anti-vaccine members, is already rewriting public health recommendations to fit RFK and his “puppets” ideology. Long-standing scientific evidence is being replaced with “cherry-picked” statistics and unverified claims, according to The New York Times. 

Project and Research Administrator at The Scripps Research Institute Mrs. Feye McDonald (Lydia (‘28) and Lorelei (‘31)) explained, “Some new health recommendations overlook both historical data and decades of scientific evidence.”

Dr. Pannaraj said that the new ACIP members “don’t follow the same decision-making process and scientific rationale that the experts previously used to make those policies.” Instead, “they’re presenting snapshots of data rather than the complete picture, therefore trying to make the public think that vaccines are a bad thing.” She worries that “inaccurate information is reaching the ears of everyone, including young people, like you, and your classmates, and they may think that it’s true.”

But this shift isn’t just a change in leadership or policy; it’s an attack on science itself. 

RFK leadership has already led to a cut of $500 million in funding for scientific research, according to NPR News. As a result of the cut, Mrs. McDonald said it has put strict limits on funding for hiring and training technicians, postdocs, or graduate students, and therefore, “RFK Jr.’s team is stifling scientific progress.” She added that the administration is “increasing barriers for many Americans to access vaccines and discouraging parents to vaccinate the next generation.”

The damage extends to something as simple as a bottle of Tylenol. Under RFK, the HHS and President Trump have begun circulating a false claim that autism is caused by Tylenol. “By doing so, they are making mothers feel guilty simply for having given their children a medicine that is long known to be safe,” said Dr. Pannaraj. 

After President Trump’s press conference discouraging Tylenol use in children, he tweeted, “DON’T GIVE TYLENOL TO YOUR YOUNG CHILDREN FOR VIRTUALLY ANY REASON.” And just like that, trusted household medicine became a weapon against children.

For many students, that confusion is deeply personal. At schools, it is common for students to visit the nurse for Tylenol or to keep it in their backpacks for headaches and pains. But when the nation’s top health officials promote falsehoods, even everyday choices start to feel uncertain.

“Health decisions are based on scientific evidence,” said Dr. Natrajan. “They help schools make informed decisions about things like vaccination policies and safety protocols, which can in turn limit disruptions in learning and keep students healthy.” If that evidence is undermined, students and families will be left without a reliable foundation for their most basic health decisions. 

Effects are already visible across the state. Bishop’s Nurse Susie Fournier said, “all schools in California, both public and private, are required to ensure all students are up-to-date with their vaccines.” She continued, “Personal belief exemptions and religious exemptions are no longer accepted in the State of California,” also stated by the California Department of Public Health. However, according to The New York Times, states like Florida are starting to remove vaccine mandates altogether. Health experts fear about the “impact on children in the state and whether other states may follow,” said PBS News. 

It is easy to dismiss national politics as something distant — an issue that doesn’t reach into our daily lives. But when misinformation becomes federal policy, it touches everything from scientific research to the Tylenol in a student’s backpack. It brings distrust, weakens community protections through immunizations, and puts lives at risk. Under RFK’s leadership, the HHS is no longer guided by science — it is guided by a flawed philosophy. The cost is measured not in politics, but in public health. 

“Our children should be a top priority and not used as political collateral,” said Nurse Fournier. Across schools, communities, and families, accurate information, scientific integrity, and public safety must remain at the center of health policy decisions. 

As Mrs. McDonald put it, “We all need to work together to keep our friends and family safe and healthy.” 

That starts by recognizing the danger of a government that no longer listens to science.