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With New Vaccine Schedule Secured, RFK Jr. Allies Head to Statehouses
The Trump administration’s abrupt overhaul of the federal vaccine schedule sent shockwaves through American health care earlier this month. But the biggest impacts are likely to come in the weeks and months ahead, as activists seek to use the momentum to loosen state-level vaccine requirements.
Among the most incendiary issues: which shots are required for children to attend day cares and public schools. Though often overlooked on the national stage, state-level changes to vaccine law can be more meaningful than changes in federal recommendations, according to advocates, who say they are acting in the interests of “medical freedom” or “health freedom.”
Public Health Must Bridge the Divide With Groups Who Mistrust Science
At the Children’s Health Defense conference in Austin, Texas this November, the crowd heard how their movement had brought their views from the fringe into the mainstream. This is undeniable, given the co-founder of this anti-vaccine organisation, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, now leads the US Department of Health and Human Services.
Within the broader political environment, figures with vaccine sceptic views now hold influential positions across US health agencies, shaping vaccine policy and public health communication from within government. Rhetoric that was once marginal is now being touted by those at the centre of power. I signed up to attend the Children’s Health Defense conference under its banner “Moment of Truth” online, hoping to learn more about how health polarisation in the US has reached such extraordinary levels.
The Children’s Health Defense was co-founded in 2016 by R F Kennedy Jr. He served as chairman of the non-profit, reportedly earning $20 000 per week, until he stepped down to run for US president in 2023. At this year’s conference, the current CEO, Mary Holland, welcomed those gathered with enthusiastic reflection on the substantial progress they’d made in recent years and the momentum behind the movement, whose vision is a “world free of childhood chronic health conditions caused by environmental exposures.”
Holland shared some of their concerns for children’s health, which few would disagree with, including the negative impact of ultra-processed food, the damage caused by environmental toxins, and the stresses of modern life on children. But for the Children’s Health Defense, she said, the greatest threat is vaccines.
Pharmaceutical Companies Are Spending Big Money on Weight-Loss Drug Lobbying
Pharmaceutical companies spent big money late last year lobbying the federal government on weight-loss drugs as scrutiny around the price of GLP-1 medications increased, according to new lobbying disclosures reviewed by NOTUS. Companies such as Ozempic and Wegovy manufacturer Novo Nordisk and Mounjaro manufacturer Eli Lilly publicly reached deals with the Trump administration to lower the cost of their blockbuster weight loss drugs for patients paying with cash or using insurance, including Medicare and Medicaid.
But behind the scenes, they continued to pay lobbyists to lobby on issues such as “the pricing of GLP-1 therapeutic products” and “Medicare coverage of anti-obesity medicines.” It’s a sign of how even as pharmaceutical companies try to play nice with the Trump administration, they’re not ignorant to the challenges the president’s pledge to lower drug costs poses to their bottom line — especially when it comes to skyrocketing GLP-1 spending.
EPA Sued Over PFAS Pesticide Amid Widespread Contamination in Michigan
Michigan has more than 240 confirmed PFAS contamination sites – among the highest in the nation. PFAS, known as “forever chemicals,” don’t break down and can build up in the body. Now, conservation groups from around the country are suing the Environmental Protection Agency over its approval of a new PFAS-based pesticide for use on major food crops, lawns, and golf courses.
Nathan Donley, Environmental Health Science Director for the Center for Biological Diversity, calls the decision alarming…”It was incredibly scary to see that we were approving a pesticide that is essentially never going to break down for use on pretty much every single crop you can think of.”
The Environmental Protection Agency late last year launched an effort to discredit reports of its registration of pesticides considered “forever chemicals.” The agency had proposed registering five of those pesticides beginning in April and had approved two of them. The agency took issue with how the new chemicals — cyclobutrifluram, isocycloseram, diflufenican, trifludimoxazin, and epyrifenacil — were being portrayed.
Environmental Groups Sue EPA Over Weakening Water-Pollution Limits on Coal Plants
Raleigh News & Observer reported:
Conservation groups have sued the Trump administration to try to keep it from allowing coal-fired power plants to dump heavy metals that end up in drinking water, including in North Carolina. The Southern Environmental Law Center filed suit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on behalf of Appalachian Voices and the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League.
The suit seeks to uphold requirements put in place in 2024 to stop many of the largest and most harmful wastewater discharges from coal-fired power plants, the SELC said. “Arsenic and mercury from coal-fired power plants can be stopped by readily available water pollution controls, but this administration wants these dirty, outdated plants to keep dumping their toxic pollution into our rivers and lakes for many years to come,” Nick Torrey, senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center, said.
“Our communities can’t afford more cancer-causing pollution in our waterways.” The White House announced in April 2025 it would invigorate “America’s beautiful clean coal industry.”
