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Vaccine Policy

Government and public health decisions on vaccine recommendations, schedules, and approvals, including actions by the CDC, HHS, and WHO.

Current stories

scienceOne report1 publisher

Op-ed proposes state vaccine plants as a backstop if federal injury compensation is overhauled

States could build their own vaccine factories if federal changes undercut the 40-year-old injury compensation program, an op-ed in STAT argues. The changes are described only as under consideration, so the plan is a contingency.

Publishers:statnews.com

Reality

Evidence30
Adoption
Not scored
Hype gap+35
Incentives
Not scored
Confidence40
scienceOne report1 publisher

Kennedy's own letter proposed a health informatics assessment of Samoa's MMR vaccines

AP and The Guardian obtained a letter Kennedy sent before the 2019 trip, and it settles what the visit was for without settling what the visit did, a distinction both his defenders and his critics keep collapsing.

Publishers:statnews.com

Reality

Evidence78
Adoption
Not scored
Hype gap+10
Incentives60
Confidence72
scienceOne report1 publisher

Kennedy built a vaccine chronic-disease case on an insert that disclaims causal inference

At the Children's Health Defense conference, the health secretary read adverse reactions off a hepatitis B package insert whose own text says their frequency and cause cannot be established. HHS now has more than 150 such reported events under study.

Publishers:statnews.com

Reality

Evidence72
Adoption61
Hype gap+62
Incentives79
Confidence66
scienceOne report1 publisher

An executive order splits MMR into three shots Merck stopped making in 2008

The Aug. 10 order also cuts the routine childhood list from 18 vaccines to 11 on the argument that the United States is out of step with Europe, and the pediatricians who have read it say no new safety or efficacy data came with it.

Reality

Evidence66
Adoption25
Hype gap+45
Incentives55
Confidence58
scienceOne report1 publisher

People in 13 countries rank being listened to among the top five things that would move them

An Edelman Trust Institute and Yale poll found that people rank a doctor's listening and patience alongside the explaining of risks. It landed in the same week Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is due to keynote the group he chaired until December 2024.

Publishers:statnews.com

Reality

Evidence57
Adoption30
Hype gap+15
Incentives62
Confidence52
scienceOne report1 publisher

The childhood vaccine order's real cost is procedural, not clinical

An immunologist argues the directive sets direction without holding authority. That leaves clinicians and state programs reconciling two sources of guidance, with nobody appointed to do it.

Publishers:livescience.com

Reality

Evidence34
Adoption
Not scored
Hype gap+19
Incentives55
Confidence41
investOne report1 publisher

A policy aide, not a regulator: what Overton's FDA nomination changes for sponsors

Heidi Overton would arrive at the FDA from the White House Domestic Policy Council, with a political record rather than a regulatory one. Plan submissions for priorities set from outside the building.

Publishers:fortune.com

Reality

Evidence62
Adoption
Not scored
Hype gap+15
Incentives74
Confidence55
scienceOne report1 publisher

Three federal health actions in one week, and the compliance clock starts before the evidence does

A vaccine executive order, a new food-additive notification duty and a finalized CMS coverage ban all landed in the same week. Each forces near-term decisions from labs, manufacturers and clinics.

Publishers:statnews.com

Reality

Evidence46
Adoption62
Hype gap+12
Incentives55
Confidence44