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Ongoing story / Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

RFK Jr.'s overhaul of US vaccine policy and the CDC's vaccine panel

Overview · reviewed October 28, 2026

As health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has remade US vaccine policy: he dropped the COVID-19 shot recommendation for healthy children and pregnant women, fired every member of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's vaccine advisory committee and replaced them with his own picks, who then ended the universal hepatitis B shot for newborns.[1][2][3] Doctors' groups sued, and in March 2026 a federal judge in Boston blocked major parts of the overhaul.[4][5] In August 2026 President Donald Trump signed an order to override the CDC's childhood vaccine schedule and separate the measles, mumps and rubella shots,[6] while the CDC's recommendation process itself has ground to a halt.[7]

Read the timeline

Follow this story to see new developments when you return.

Doctors' groups sued, and in March 2026 a federal judge in Boston blocked major parts of the overhaul.[4][5] In August 2026 President Donald Trump signed an order to override the CDC's childhood vaccine schedule and separate the measles, mumps and rubella shots,[6] while the CDC's recommendation process itself has ground to a halt.[7]

Coverage over time

Share of tracked outlets · weekly (UTC)

Week of 2025-02-17 (UTC): 8%, 15 of 194 tracked outlets (5 left, 9 center, 1 right)Week of 2025-02-24 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-03-03 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-03-10 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-03-17 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-03-24 (UTC): 22%, 42 of 194 tracked outlets (13 left, 20 center, 9 right)Week of 2025-03-31 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-04-07 (UTC): 12%, 23 of 194 tracked outlets (5 left, 13 center, 5 right)Week of 2025-04-14 (UTC): 10%, 21 of 201 tracked outlets (3 left, 11 center, 7 right)Week of 2025-04-21 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-04-28 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-05-05 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-05-12 (UTC): 4%, 8 of 202 tracked outlets (3 left, 3 center, 2 right)Week of 2025-05-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-05-26 (UTC): 27%, 51 of 191 tracked outlets (18 left, 24 center, 9 right)Week of 2025-06-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-09 (UTC): 27%, 53 of 199 tracked outlets (15 left, 28 center, 10 right)Week of 2025-06-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-23 (UTC): 4%, 6 of 137 tracked outlets (1 left, 5 center, 0 right)Week of 2025-06-30 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-07-07 (UTC): 6%, 11 of 191 tracked outlets (5 left, 4 center, 2 right)Week of 2025-07-14 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-07-21 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-07-28 (UTC): 7%, 14 of 187 tracked outlets (2 left, 9 center, 3 right)Week of 2025-08-04 (UTC): 21%, 40 of 194 tracked outlets (15 left, 20 center, 5 right)Week of 2025-08-11 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-18 (UTC): 15%, 29 of 191 tracked outlets (11 left, 17 center, 1 right)Week of 2025-08-25 (UTC): 23%, 46 of 199 tracked outlets (15 left, 22 center, 9 right)Week of 2025-09-01 (UTC): 21%, 37 of 177 tracked outlets (12 left, 18 center, 7 right)Week of 2025-09-08 (UTC): 3%, 7 of 214 tracked outlets (2 left, 4 center, 1 right)Week of 2025-09-15 (UTC): 21%, 41 of 191 tracked outlets (18 left, 20 center, 3 right)Week of 2025-09-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-06 (UTC): 4%, 7 of 181 tracked outlets (1 left, 4 center, 2 right)Week of 2025-10-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-03 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-10 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-17 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-24 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-01 (UTC): 25%, 44 of 177 tracked outlets (14 left, 26 center, 4 right)Week of 2025-12-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-15 (UTC): 4%, 7 of 187 tracked outlets (2 left, 4 center, 1 right)Week of 2025-12-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-05 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-12 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-16 (UTC): 20%, 35 of 178 tracked outlets (14 left, 13 center, 8 right)Week of 2026-03-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-30 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-13 (UTC): 14%, 22 of 156 tracked outlets (9 left, 8 center, 5 right)Week of 2026-04-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-04 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-11 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-18 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-25 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-06 (UTC): 1%, 5 of 560 tracked outlets (0 left, 3 center, 2 right)Week of 2026-07-13 (UTC): 6%, 31 of 559 tracked outlets (14 left, 11 center, 6 right)Week of 2026-07-20 (UTC): 2%, 13 of 562 tracked outlets (2 left, 7 center, 4 right)Week of 2026-07-27 (UTC): 10%, 54 of 561 tracked outlets (18 left, 20 center, 16 right)Week of 2026-08-03 (UTC): 13%, 72 of 537 tracked outlets (19 left, 32 center, 21 right)Week of 2026-08-10 (UTC): 25%, 138 of 545 tracked outlets (38 left, 61 center, 39 right)Week of 2026-08-17 (UTC): 3%, 12 of 464 tracked outlets (5 left, 7 center, 0 right)Week of 2026-08-24 (UTC): 4%, 18 of 466 tracked outlets (8 left, 8 center, 2 right)Week of 2026-08-31 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-07 (UTC): 1%, 4 of 480 tracked outlets (0 left, 4 center, 0 right)Week of 2026-09-14 (UTC): 6%, 28 of 480 tracked outlets (8 left, 18 center, 2 right)Week of 2026-09-21 (UTC): 2%, 8 of 479 tracked outlets (2 left, 5 center, 1 right)Week of 2026-09-28 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-05 (UTC): 3%, 12 of 479 tracked outlets (0 left, 8 center, 4 right)Week of 2026-10-12 (UTC): 1%, 3 of 476 tracked outlets (1 left, 1 center, 1 right)Week of 2026-10-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-26 (UTC): 3%, 14 of 473 tracked outlets (7 left, 6 center, 1 right)Week of 2026-11-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-11-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outlets, so far

LeftCenterRightLighter bar: this week so far

Each bar is the share of the outlets on our Left / Center / Right rating scale that we tracked publishing that week which carried reporting on this story, split by the outlets' ratings. We track more outlets now than in the archive, so a share keeps earlier and later weeks comparable. An outlet counts once a week however much it published, and outlets in one ownership or syndication group count as one on each side they appear on. A rating describes the outlet, not the report. A gap means no such reports were collected that week, not that nothing was reported anywhere. Weeks run Monday to Sunday in UTC, so a report published on a Sunday evening in US Eastern time counts in the next week. 9 more outlets off the scale (not rated, or outside the left-right graphs) also reported; they are not in this chart. See them.

Weekly counts, outlets and reports (35 weeks with coverage)
Outlets on the rating scale that carried this story each week, of the outlets tracked that week, newest first
Week of (UTC)LeftCenterRightOf trackedShareReceipts
Oct 26, 202676114 of 4733%
Oct 12, 20261113 of 4761%
Oct 5, 202608412 of 4793%
Sep 21, 20262518 of 4792%
Sep 14, 2026818228 of 4806%
Sep 7, 20260404 of 4801%
Aug 24, 202688218 of 4664%
Aug 17, 202657012 of 4643%
Aug 10, 2026386139138 of 54525%
Aug 3, 202619322172 of 53713%
Jul 27, 202618201654 of 56110%
Jul 20, 202627413 of 5622%
Jul 13, 20261411631 of 5596%
Jul 6, 20260325 of 5601%
Apr 13, 202698522 of 15614%
Mar 16, 20261413835 of 17820%
Dec 15, 20252417 of 1874%
Dec 1, 20251426444 of 17725%
Oct 6, 20251427 of 1814%
Sep 15, 20251820341 of 19121%
Sep 8, 20252417 of 2143%
Sep 1, 20251218737 of 17721%
Aug 25, 20251522946 of 19923%
Aug 18, 20251117129 of 19115%
Aug 4, 20251520540 of 19421%
Jul 28, 202529314 of 1877%
Jul 7, 202554211 of 1916%
Jun 23, 20251506 of 1374%
Jun 9, 202515281053 of 19927%
May 26, 20251824951 of 19127%
May 12, 20253328 of 2024%
Apr 14, 2025311721 of 20110%
Apr 7, 2025513523 of 19412%
Mar 24, 20251320942 of 19422%
Feb 17, 202559115 of 1948%

Latest coverage

The newest reporting in this story's record.

  1. Oct 26, 2026 · first reported · Headline from ABC 7 Los Angeles

    CDC's chief medical officer resigns after being hired in April

Background

To win the vote he needed for confirmation, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. promised a senator that he would not change the nation's vaccine schedule; weeks later he said a panel would examine the childhood schedule.[8] His confirmation is covered in its own arc. In March 2025 Dr. Peter Marks, a top US vaccine official, resigned, citing Kennedy's "misinformation and lies."[9] In April Kennedy called autism an epidemic and promised that a research effort would find its cause by September.[10][11] In May he announced in a video that COVID-19 vaccines would no longer be recommended for healthy children and pregnant women, breaking from CDC guidance;[12][13] doctors and public health groups sued over the change.[4]

Read the full background (3 more paragraphs)

On June 9, 2025, Kennedy removed all members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the panel that advises the CDC on how vaccines should be used, and pledged to name his own.[2] At the new panel's first meeting, CDC scientists pushed back on presentations expected to cast doubt on immunization.[14] In August the AP found that Kennedy's stated reasons for cutting mRNA vaccine work were not supported by evidence,[15] and the American Academy of Pediatrics broke with him by recommending COVID shots for young children.[16] That month CDC Director Susan Monarez was ousted weeks after her confirmation;[17] she said Kennedy was politicizing public health,[18] nine former CDC directors said he was endangering Americans' health,[19] and more than 1,000 current and former HHS employees called on him to resign.[20]

Kennedy's advisers voted in September to recommend against a combination measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox vaccine for young children,[21][22] and in December they ended the decades-old recommendation that all newborns get the hepatitis B vaccine, advising parents to consult a provider instead.[23][3] Kennedy and Trump also promoted fringe claims about autism, including one linking it to circumcision.[24] In March 2026 a federal judge in Boston blocked major parts of the overhaul.[5] Trump then chose Dr. Erica Schwartz, a former deputy surgeon general, to lead the CDC, and the Senate confirmed her 51-44 in August.[25][26]

That month Trump signed an seeking to override the CDC's vaccine schedule and give measles, mumps and rubella shots at separate visits, an order public health experts quickly condemned.[6] At the signing, he and Kennedy repeated false and misleading vaccine claims.[27] Documents obtained by the Guardian and AP contradicted Kennedy's testimony at his confirmation hearings that a 2019 visit to Samoa had "nothing to do with vaccines."[28] By the fall the CDC's vaccine recommendation process had stalled,[7] Kennedy launched a program to study vaccine injuries,[29] and he told the anti-vaccine group he once led that it had a "friend at the White House."[30] The return of measles is followed in its own arc.

Supporting stories (30)
  1. CDC ends Covid vaccine recommendation for healthy kids and pregnant women
  2. RFK Jr. says he is removing all 17 members of CDC's vaccine advisory committee
  3. CDC formally stops recommending hepatitis B vaccines for all newborns
  4. Doctors, public health groups sue Kennedy over COVID vaccine policy changes
  5. Federal judge halts RFK Jr.’s changes to children's vaccine policies
  6. GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy slams Trump’s childhood vaccine order, warns kids may die: ‘crazy, stupid’
  7. CDC vaccine policy recommendations grind to a halt under Health Secretary Kennedy
  8. Kennedy says panel will examine childhood vaccine schedule after promising not to change it
  9. Top vaccine official resigns from FDA, criticizes RFK Jr. for promoting 'misinformation and lies'
  10. Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says US autism cases are climbing at an 'alarming rate'
  11. RFK Jr. pledges HHS will determine cause of autism by September
  12. CDC continues to recommend COVID vaccines for children, contradicts Kennedy
  13. RFK Jr. cuts COVID vaccine recommendation for healthy kids, pregnant women
  14. CDC scientists push back on vaccine presentations casting doubt on immunization safety
  15. RFK Jr. Justifies Cuts to mRNA Vaccine Projects With Falsehoods
  16. US pediatricians' new COVID-19 shot recommendations differ from CDC advice
  17. CDC director is out after less than a month; other agency leaders resign
  18. Ousted CDC chief warns that RFK Jr. is politicizing public health
  19. Former CDC directors say RFK Jr. is endangering Americans' health
  20. RFK. Jr’s family members say he is a ‘threat’ to Americans’ health and call for his resignation
  21. CDC advisers vote to recommend against combo vaccine for young kids, delay vote on newborn hepatitis B shot
  22. Kennedy's advisory panel recommends new restrictions on MMRV vaccines
  23. US vaccine advisers say not all babies need a hepatitis B shot at birth
  24. RFK Jr. suggests circumcision is linked to autism. Here
  25. Trump nominates Erica Schwartz, former deputy surgeon general, to serve as CDC director
  26. Senate confirms Schwartz as CDC director
  27. Trump and RFK Jr. Repeat False and Misleading Vaccine Claims
  28. RFK Jr. said a Samoa trip had nothing to do with vaccines. New documents refute that
  29. RFK Jr. tasks researchers with studying vaccine injuries
  30. Kennedy tells anti-vaccine activists they have a friend in Trump's White House

The full record

Each date is when an update was first reported.

All 59 recorded updates

October 2026

  1. CDC's chief medical officer resigns after being hired in AprilHeadline from ABC News · 3 outlets
  2. CDC Deputy Director Jennifer Shuford to resign after brief tenureHeadline from UPI · 13 outlets
  3. RFK Jr. blames measles outbreak on familiar foe — for a shocking reasonHeadline from The Oregonian · 3 outlets
  4. RFK Jr. tasks researchers with studying vaccine injuriesHeadline from Local News 8 · 12 outlets

September 2026

  1. CDC vaccine policy recommendations grind to a halt under Health Secretary KennedyHeadline from KOB 4 · 8 outlets
  2. Kennedy tells anti-vaccine activists they have a friend in Trump's White HouseHeadline from Philadelphia Inquirer · 29 outlets
  3. CDC director's 'unusual' silence draws scrutinyHeadline from The Hill · 4 outlets

August 2026

  1. RFK Jr. said a Samoa trip had nothing to do with vaccines. New documents refute thatHeadline from STAT · 18 outlets
  2. New CDC director acknowledges agency problems in first large staff meetingHeadline from Philadelphia Inquirer · 8 outlets
  3. Kennedy's quiet hunt for autism culprits stalls as Trump orders baseless changes to childhood shotsHeadline from PhillyVoice · 5 outlets
  4. Trump and RFK Jr. Repeat False and Misleading Vaccine ClaimsHeadline from FactCheck.org · 3 outlets
  5. GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy slams Trump’s childhood vaccine order, warns kids may die: ‘crazy, stupid’Headline from New York Post · 142 outlets
  6. Senate confirms Schwartz as CDC directorHeadline from West Hawaii Today · 57 outlets
  7. RFK Jr. pushed falsehoods on COVID and vaccines during a CNN interview. It got heated as Dana Bash challenged him.Headline from The Boston Globe · 32 outlets

July 2026

  1. Senate committee advances nomination of Dr. Erica Schwartz to be Trump’s CDC directorHeadline from The Republic · 38 outlets
  2. Trump Pushes RFK Jr. to Cut Childhood Vaccines Over AutismHeadline from The 74 Million · 6 outlets
  3. Senate committee postpones vote on whether to advance CDC director nomineeHeadline from WCBD News 2 · 13 outlets
  4. CDC nominee says she won't betray science — and also backs Kennedy's actionsHeadline from WFMZ Allentown · 30 outlets
  5. RFK Jr. IS planning to release a COVID-19 vaccine injury listHeadline from End Time Headlines · 5 outlets

April 2026

  1. Trump nominates Erica Schwartz, former deputy surgeon general, to serve as CDC directorHeadline from Boston · 23 outlets

March 2026

  1. Federal judge halts RFK Jr.’s changes to children's vaccine policiesHeadline from GBH News · 36 outlets

December 2025

  1. CDC formally stops recommending hepatitis B vaccines for all newbornsHeadline from NBC4 Washington · 8 outlets
  2. CDC vaccine advisory committee meets to discuss hepatitis B shot, childhood immunization scheduleHeadline from ABC 7 New York · 3 outlets
  3. US vaccine advisers say not all babies need a hepatitis B shot at birthHeadline from MyNorthwest · 46 outlets

October 2025

  1. RFK Jr. suggests circumcision is linked to autism. HereHeadline from CBS News · 8 outlets

Coverage & sources

Read the reports, see how much was collected over time, or compare outlets by political leaning.

Coverage & sources →