Donald Trump is pushing the vaccine opponent and health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr to be more aggressive on cutting vaccines in the US, according to the Wall Street Journal. The US president reportedly hopes to make "alleviating autism" a component of his legacy.
The White House had previously put a hold on vaccine changes after polling indicated they were a losing issue for the midterm elections. However, Trump reportedly asked Kennedy at his Virginia golf course in May if he had the "yips", suggesting he was not making enough cuts to the vaccination schedule.
Kennedy, who leads the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), slashed the routine childhood immunization schedule in an unprecedented move. A federal judge later ordered a halt to these changes following a lawsuit from the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the advisory committee on immunization practices (ACIP) was also paused, as it was illegally formed under Kennedy.
Kennedy has not made significant changes since, but Trump issued an executive order in May urging HHS to alter vaccine recommendations. The president has a long history of anti-vaccine statements, including promoting debunked links between vaccination and autism.
Decades of research point overwhelmingly to genetics as the cause of autism, with no proven link to vaccines. Nevertheless, a White House spokesperson said the administration was "committed to leaving no stone unturned" to address concerns from parents of autistic children.
