RFK Jr. Quietly Drives Broad Federal Vaccine Review From Inside HHS

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is driving a broad inquiry into vaccines from inside the department, The New York Times reported on May 11, 2026, even as he has spoken less publicly about the issue in recent months while the review continues behind the scenes at HHS. The inquiry includes both research into vaccine safety and significant changes to the CDC's vaccine advisory committee structure.

The Details

The federal vaccine review encompasses both new research initiatives and structural changes to the advisory bodies that shape U.S. immunization policy. On March 7, 2025, Reuters reported that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was planning a large study into potential connections between vaccines and autism, citing sources familiar with the effort. The Reuters report explicitly noted that extensive scientific research has found no evidence of such a link. On the same day, CNN reported that HHS had directly asked the CDC to study vaccines and autism using the Vaccine Safety Datalink, according to a person familiar with the plan. CNN's report also stated that strong evidence exists showing vaccines do not cause autism.

In a joint statement quoted by Reuters regarding the planned study, HHS and the CDC said: "CDC will leave no stone unturned in its mission to figure out exactly what is happening."

In parallel with the research effort, Kennedy has acted to reshape the advisory panel that sets national immunization standards. In a June 9, 2025 op-ed originally published in the Wall Street Journal and reposted by the Department of Health and Human Services on its website, Kennedy wrote that the department had reconstituted the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. In the op-ed, Kennedy stated: "Today, we are taking a bold step in restoring public trust by totally reconstituting the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices." The op-ed argued the move was meant to restore public trust in vaccines.

On February 27, 2026, HHS announced that Kennedy appointed two new physicians to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, tying the appointments to what the department described as his push for transparency and changes in immunization policy oversight. In the announcement, Kennedy said: "ACIP must scrutinize the evidence openly, ask hard questions, and earn the nation's confidence through transparent deliberation."

The planned CDC study into potential vaccine-autism connections and the subsequent ACIP reconstitution represent two distinct but related components of Kennedy's broader vaccine review at HHS.

Context

Kennedy has a long record of vaccine skepticism and, as HHS secretary, has authority over agencies including the CDC. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices plays a central role in vaccine recommendations that shape U.S. immunization policy across the country. Mainstream scientific consensus holds that vaccines do not cause autism, and repeated large studies have failed to establish such a link. HHS asked CDC to use the Vaccine Safety Datalink in its examination of potential connections between vaccines and autism, according to CNN's March 7, 2025 report. Reuters, CNN, and The New York Times have each reported on aspects of the federal vaccine review, reflecting sustained media attention to the issue.

Kennedy and HHS frame the vaccine-related personnel and advisory changes as transparency and trust-restoration measures. However, critics and outside news coverage from outlets including Reuters, CNN, and The New York Times describe them as steps that elevate disproven concerns about vaccine safety.

What's Next

Kennedy's appointment of two new physicians to ACIP on February 27, 2026, signals continued attention to immunization policy oversight at HHS. The CDC's planned vaccine-autism study remains an active federal research effort that continues despite extensive scientific evidence finding no link between vaccines and autism. Behind the scenes, Kennedy continues to drive the broad vaccine inquiry from inside HHS, according to The New York Times. The CDC's planned study, first reported in March 2025, and the February 2026 ACIP appointments reflect a review that spans both research and advisory committee oversight. The competing framings—Kennedy and HHS describing the moves as transparency efforts aimed at restoring public confidence, while outside news coverage characterizes them as elevating concerns that have been disproven by scientific research—position the federal vaccine review as an ongoing focal point in national health policy.