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KQED's Forum

RFK Jr. Stacks Key Federal Immunization Committee With Vaccine Skeptics

KQED's Forum

KQED

Politics, News, News Commentary

4.6 • 656 Ratings

🗓️ 16 June 2025

⏱️ 56 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. named multiple vaccine skeptics to the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices last week, after purging the original members of the panel. The move comes after HHS released a report on children’s health questioning the safety of vaccines, while also taking aim at processed food and environmental toxins. We’ll take stock of Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda and its public health implications. Guests: Katherine Wu, staff writer, The Atlantic Lauren Weber, Health and Science Accountability Reporter, The Washington Post Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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1:01.1

From KQED in San Francisco, I'm Leslie McClurg in today for Mina Kim.

1:23.6

Recently, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired all 17 members of the federal vaccine advisory panel and then replaced some of them with outspoken vaccine skeptics.

1:35.9

That move comes on the heels of his Make America Healthy Again report, which mixes valid concerns about ultra-processed foods and environmental toxins with dubious science and suspected AI-generated content.

1:49.2

Coming up, we'll look at RFK's rhetoric and how it's shaping federal health policy.

1:53.7

That's next after this news. Welcome to Forum. I'm Leslie McClurg. I'm in today for Mina Kim. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is reshaping health policy fast. And he's stirring some pretty deep controversy along the way. He's raised questions about

2:20.2

vaccine safety. He's fired top federal advisors. He's released this sweeping health report that

2:26.6

some medical doctors are calling spot on and others are calling misleading. So what is true? What is

2:33.0

not true? And how should we navigate RFK's public health

2:36.7

agenda? We're joined today by Catherine Wu. She's a staff writer at the Atlantic. And Lauren

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