Trump admin sows doubt over vaccines in 'Make America Healthy Again' report

by Issam AHMED

A highly anticipated White House report outlining Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s agenda devotes significant space to raising alarm over vaccines, while touching on environmental and nutrition concerns that remain at odds with broader administration actions.

Kennedy has long warned of soaring childhood chronic illness, blaming ultra-processed foods, environmental toxins, and sedentary lifestyles.

Critics, however, say he downplays the danger of infectious disease -- while President Donald Trump's administration generally undercuts Kennedy's green goals by deferring to industry.

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In a document released Thursday by the "Make America Healthy Again" commission, the administration expands on those concerns yet also assails the US childhood vaccine regime, even reviving a debunked link to chronic disease.

"Despite the growth of the childhood vaccine schedule there has been limited scientific inquiry into the links between vaccines and chronic disease, the impacts of vaccine injury, and conflicts of interest in the development of the vaccine schedule," the report states.

Since taking office, Kennedy has ordered the National Institutes of Health to probe the causes of autism -- a condition he has long falsely tied to the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine.

The report's chronic disease references appear to nod to that same disproven theory, discredited by numerous studies since the idea first aired in a late 1990s paper based on falsified data.

It also rails against the "over-medicalization" of children, citing surging prescriptions of psychiatric drugs and antibiotics, and blaming "corporate capture" for skewing scientific research.

"At its core, this report is a call to action for common sense," Kennedy said at a White House event formally launching the assessment, which Trump hailed as a "historic milestone."

- Statements at odds with actions -

Some of Kennedy's goals enjoy broad bipartisan appeal.

Last month he urged industry to phase out synthetic food colorings -- though experts fault the administration for making the step voluntary.

Ultra-processed foods are another area of common ground as US childhood obesity continues to climb, yet the Trump administration has slashed funding for diet-improvement research.

The commission likewise brands "forever chemicals" found in cookware, textiles and firefighting foam a grave menace -- even though, just last week, the administration relaxed limits on those same pollutants in drinking water.

Microplastics found in nearly all breast milk samples also get flagged for causing hormonal disruption -- yet the Trump administration has reversed a plan to ban single-use products in national parks, wildlife refuges, and other public lands.

"Even when the report has a good idea, like increasing consumption of whole, unprocessed foods, the remedies suggested are at odds with efforts of Kennedy, Trump, Musk, and Republicans in Congress to decimate federal workforce and government spending," said Peter Lurie of the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

"How is the American diet to improve when Republicans are hell-bent on cutting SNAP benefits (food stamps), slashing school meals, ripping millions of Americans from their health insurance coverage, withdrawing proposed rules that would reduce foodborne Salmonella, and laying off food inspectors?"

Before its publication, the report split Republicans over agricultural pesticides, long targeted by Kennedy during his environmental law career.

Pro- Big Agriculture lawmakers and lobbyists found themselves pitted against Kennedy's fervent base, which includes wellness influencers and so-called "MAHA Moms."

A key flashpoint was glyphosate, the main ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup weedkiller -- but ultimately, pesticides received limited space.

A single subsection names glyphosate, listing possible health effects "ranging from reproductive and developmental disorders to cancers, liver inflammation, and metabolic disturbance," while stating that human studies are limited and further research is needed to confirm real-world harm.