Below are extracts from an article by Lawrence O. Gostin (O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law) and Dorit Reiss (University of California College of the Law). Read online: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-health-forum/fullarticle/2835880?r...
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Vaccines save lives. This was once an accepted fact, but now access to, and acceptance of, vaccines is seriously threatened...
The US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) should be studying and implementing policies to extend vaccine coverage, but the nation’s health agency is doing the opposite. On June 9, 2025, DHHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr removed all 17 members (who have extensive expertise in vaccine science) of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and plans to reconstitute the entire committee. Rather than promote public confidence as the DHHS secretary claimed, his actions are more likely to erode public trust.
DHHS Secretary Kennedy also has a long history of linking MMR vaccines to autism despite a scientific consensus that no causal association exists. The DHHS secretary recently appointed a well-known vaccine skeptic to lead a new study into the causes of autism. This creates concern about the DHHS secretary’s willingness to adhere to scientific evidence in vaccine development, promotion, and oversight...
Misinformation coming from the nation’s top health officials has direct effects, including lowering vaccination rates, increasing requests for vaccine exemptions, and resulting in children experiencing vitamin A toxicity. Antivaccine organizations, whose funding increased during the pandemic, continue to be vocal but now their views are amplified by leaders at the most senior levels.
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COMMENT (NPW): In 2012, HIFA and the New York Law School demonstrateed that governments have a legal obligation under international human rights law to ensure that their populations have access to reliable healthcare information. [ https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3670747 ]. Over 10 years later there is still no accountability for governments that not only do not ensure reliable healthcare information, but do the opposite, promoting misinformation and ignoring the principles of evidence-informed policymaking.
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org