RFK Jr. Adviser Sought To Have FDA Retract Approval Of Polio Vaccine
Aaron Siri, a lawyer who is helping to vet candidates for top health positions, has a history of challenging vaccine policies in courts. Candidates to fill roles in the incoming administration are specifically asked about their vaccine views, sources say.
The New York Times:
RFK Jr.’s Lawyer Has Asked The FDA To Revoke Polio Vaccine Approval
The lawyer helping Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pick federal health officials for the incoming Trump administration has petitioned the government to revoke its approval of the polio vaccine, which for decades has protected millions of people from a virus that can cause paralysis or death. That campaign is just one front in the war that the lawyer, Aaron Siri, is waging against vaccines of all kinds. (Jewett and Stolberg, 12/13)
Salon:
"It Will Cost Lives": Trump Says He'll Talk With RFK Jr. About Discouraging Childhood Vaccines
In an interview with TIME Magazine published Thursday, President-elect Donald Trump said that he would discuss ending child vaccination programs with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the anti-vaccine activist he has nominated to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. Asked if he would approve of any decision by Kennedy to end vaccination programs — insofar as he has that power, which is largely delegated to the states — Trump cited autism as a reason why he might. "We're going to have a big discussion," he said. "The autism rate is at a level that nobody ever believed possible. If you look at things that are happening, there's something causing it." His administration would get rid of some vaccinations if "I think it's dangerous, if I think they are not beneficial," Trump added. (Lu, 12/12)
The New York Times:
Six Childhood Scourges We’ve Forgotten About, Thanks To Vaccines
Some of President-elect Donald J. Trump’s picks for the government’s top health posts have expressed skepticism about the safety of childhood vaccines. It’s a sentiment shared by a growing number of parents, who are choosing to skip recommended shots for their children. But while everyone seems to be talking about the potential side effects of vaccines, few are discussing the diseases they prevent. (Baumgaertner, 12/13)
Read Donald Trump's interview in Time magazine —
Time:
Donald Trump's 2024 Person Of The Year Interview Transcript
President-elect Donald Trump, TIME’s 2024 Person of the Year, sat down for a wide-ranging interview at his Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla., on Nov. 25. Over the course of the interview, Trump discussed his election victory, the economy, and the situations in Ukraine and the Middle East. He also spoke about his plans for a second term, including deporting millions of migrants and pardoning Jan. 6 defendants, as well as the future of the MAGA movement. (12/12)
In other health policy news —
Politico:
Hegseth Walks Back Controversial Comments On Women And Gays In The Military
Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of defense, softened his stance against women in combat and gays in the military after he previously suggested they shouldn’t fill those roles. His evolving rhetoric — which came after meetings with more moderate senators — signals an effort to soothe lingering concerns his leadership might cause upheaval to a diverse, modern military. It could also serve as a guide for Trump’s other would-be nominees who face headwinds in their confirmations. (Gould and O'Brien, 12/13)
Military.com:
No More Copays: Defense Bill Set To Sign Off On Free Birth Control For Military Families
Free birth control will be available to all Tricare users after more than a decade of efforts to eliminate copays for contraception for military families were finally successful in this year's annual defense policy bill. Since the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, ended copays for birth control for private insurance plans, lawmakers, mostly Democrats, have pushed for military families to have the same benefit in their health insurance. (Kheel, 12/12)
The Washington Post:
Energized By Next Trump Term, Red States Move Agendas Further Right
Red-state leaders emboldened by Donald Trump’s presidential victory are not waiting for him to take office to advance far more conservative agendas at home. Idaho lawmakers want to allow school staff to carry concealed firearms without prior approval and parents to sue districts in library and curriculum disputes. Lawmakers in Oklahoma plan to further restrict abortion by limiting the emergency exceptions and to require the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public schools, while their counterparts in Arkansas are moving to create the felony offense of “vaccine harm,” which could make pharmaceutical companies or their executive officers potentially criminally liable. (Hennessy-Fiske, 12/13)
