1. HHS mismanages measles response in the Southwest
As of May 22, 2025, there have been 1,046 confirmed cases of the disease, including 128 hospitalizations and three deaths; this is the largest outbreak in the US in 25 years. At his hearing at the Senate HELP committee last week, Sec. Kennedy again made a series of misstatements about the safety of the measles vaccine.
As we have previously noted, these misstatements come on top of previous errors, including endorsing unproven treatments, falsely describing the vaccines' adverse effects, preventing experts from briefing the public, and cutting grant funds for the state measles response.
Editor's note: This one will stay in the top spot on the Straight Shot until the federal response improves or the outbreak ends. – SD
2. HHS pulls Covid vaccines for healthy children and pregnant women from the immunization schedule
On May 27, Secretary Kennedy announced in a 1-minute video on X that the administration had decided to remove the Covid vaccine for healthy children and healthy pregnant women from the CDC’s recommended immunization schedule. Sec. Kennedy provided no data to justify this determination, which could limit access to free vaccines for children and pregnant people, as insurance companies may not reimburse for products that are not officially endorsed. Whether the Vaccines for Children program will continue to provide vaccines for low-income children beyond the CDC recommendations is not yet known.
Editor's note: Sec. Kennedy took this action despite testifying just last week that nobody should take medical advice from him. Meanwhile, the professional organizations representing pediatricians and obstetricians have put out statements objecting to ending vaccine recommendations without justification. – JS
3. FDA adds new restrictions and requirements on Covid vaccines
As detailed in the previous issue of The Straight Shot, Commissioner Makary and new CBER Director Prasad recently announced a new FDA approach to Covid vaccine approvals that will limit access to these vaccines. A week later, there are still no official FDA documents or explanations for how this will actually be implemented in order to answer the many questions that have been raised.
Editor's note: To our knowledge, the FDA has never previously narrowed the indication for a medical product without providing evidence that the product is ineffective or unsafe. – JR
4. The White House issues an initial MAHA report
On May 22, the White House issued the Make Our Children Healthy Again Assessment. This report, designed to explore the reasons behind the rise in childhood chronic conditions, was compiled without any public meetings or other opportunities for external input.
One section of the report was dedicated to concerns regarding vaccines, questioning the expansion of the childhood immunization schedule, the adequacy of clinical trials, the effectiveness of safety monitoring, the integrity of the Vaccine Injury Compensation program, and the role of vaccine mandates, which further undermines public confidence in vaccines.
Editor's note: The report provides no evidence that vaccines are unsafe, ineffective, or contribute to chronic illness in children. But this set of topics may be a road map for coming changes to vaccine policy. – SD
5. Confusion over leadership at CDC
On March 24, President Trump nominated the Acting CDC Director, Dr. Susan Monarez, to lead the agency, forcing her to step aside from this position. On May 14, Sec. Kennedy testified that CDC Chief of Staff, Matt Buzzelli, is the acting CDC director. But the CDC website lists him as the Chief of Staff, and he may not meet the necessary legal qualifications to serve as the acting director, which appear to include having worked at the agency for 90 days in the prior year. While Sec. Kennedy referred to Buzzelli as a “public health expert,” he is a former trial attorney with no discernible public health experience.
Editor's note: The CDC Director is responsible for overseeing the agency's work on vaccines, including updating the immunization schedule. A vacuum at the top of the agency provides HHS with the opportunity to control vaccine policy, as it showed with the announcement around Covid recommendations for children and pregnant women. –JR
6. FDA updates safety information for Pfizer and Moderna Covid vaccines
On May 21, the FDA posted letters dated April 17 to Pfizer and Moderna asking the companies to update their labels with new information about the rare risk for myocarditis and pericarditis after receiving their Covid vaccines. The new information includes an estimate of 38 extra cases for every 1 million doses administered to the group at highest risk for this adverse effect, males between 16 and 25 years of age.
Editor's note: As scientific understanding progresses, it's important for the FDA to update safety information about Covid vaccines. The updated information does not alter the risk-benefit assessment for Covid vaccines, which reflects that Covid itself causes myocarditis and pericarditis at higher rates than the vaccine. CDC's May 1, 2025, update for clinicians notes that the benefits of Covid vaccination exceed the risks for all groups recommended for vaccination. -JS
7. HHS Secretary delays action on ACIP recommendations
At the April 16 meeting of the ACIP, the committee made recommendations for the use of a new chikungunya vaccine, RSV vaccines for older adults, and a new pentavalent meningococcal vaccine. While Secretary Kennedy, acting in the absence of a CDC director, has adopted the ACIP recommendation for a new chikungunya vaccine, he has not yet acted on the two other ACIP recommendations. (No change from last update.)
Editor's note: Even if the Secretary ultimately accepts these recommendations, the delay raises questions about political interference and, more importantly, will mean a delay until people can access these FDA-approved vaccines. – SD
8. HHS hires anti-vaccine activist to review vaccine safety data
HHS has hired David Geier, a leading source of misinformation about vaccines, to investigate questions related to vaccine safety.
Editor's note: This item, detailed in previous updates of The Straight Shot, stays on our list until the Geier report is released. – JS
9. HHS cuts funds for vaccination in states and its own vaccine staff
A federal judge has ruled that the Administration cannot proceed with the $11 billion in cuts to state public health funds. Some of these funds were used to fund vaccination clinics; others were used for outbreak monitoring and response.
Editor's note: This item, detailed in previous updates of The Straight Shot, stays on our list until the issue is resolved. – JR
10. HHS moves $500 million to study older vaccine technology favored by two appointees
HHS abruptly pulled $500 million from contracts for next-generation vaccines and is using the funds to study a type of "whole-virus" vaccine technology developed and championed by two political appointees. "Whole-virus" vaccines are 70 years old and thought by many scientists to be less effective and cause more adverse effects than newer technologies.
Editor's note: This item, described in more detail in previous updates of The Straight Shot, will stay on our list until we learn more about this enormous investment of federal resources.– JS
