What Next | Daily News and Analysis The Year of Vaccine Backsliding
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Dec 4, 2025 
Dr. Paul Offit, a prominent vaccine advocate and director of the Vaccine Education Center, discusses the unsettling changes at the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee under RFK Jr. He criticizes the lack of expertise among new members and the influence of anti-vaccine activists on public health policy. Offit highlights troubling vaccine safety claims and the resurgence of preventable diseases like measles, emphasizing the urgency for parents to be informed. He advocates for political intervention and mobilization to counteract harmful shifts in vaccine policy.
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Anti-Vaccine Movement Became Policy
- RFK Jr.'s appointment has shifted vaccine skeptics from the sidelines into policymaking roles.
- That change turns long-standing anti-vaccine activism into direct policy influence with real consequences for public health.
Fired From An Advisory Committee
- Paul Offit recounts being removed from an FDA advisory committee after RFK Jr.'s appointment.
- He frames the removal as a badge of honor and evidence he's on RFK Jr.'s radar.
'Ruled Out' Language Misleads Public
- CDC wording changed to say studies haven't 'ruled out' vaccines causing autism, exploiting the impossibility of proving a universal negative.
- Offit warns this phrasing misleads the public despite extensive studies showing no MMR-autism link.