Poll: RFK Jr.’s Food Agenda Finds Appeal Across Partisan Lines, but Vaccines Are a Different Story + More
Source: Children’s Health Defense
Poll: RFK Jr.’s Food Agenda Finds Appeal Across Partisan Lines, but Vaccines Are a Different Story
New polling about Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and elements of his policy agenda shows how his “Make America Healthy Again” push doesn’t break down along the same neat partisan lines as other issues, creating some political vulnerability and some opportunity.
A significant majority of U.S. adults support using vaccines to prevent diseases, including majorities of Republicans, Democrats and independents, according to the NBC News Decision Desk Poll powered by SurveyMonkey. And the share of people who believe vaccines are most to blame for chronic health issues is small, two dynamics that are at odds with Kennedy’s repeated efforts to cast doubt on the safety and efficacy of vaccines.
Kennedy has long spread misinformation about the safety and effectiveness of childhood vaccines. As health secretary, he recently dismantled the country’s premier group of vaccine experts — the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s independent committee of vaccine advisers — and replaced former members with several well-known vaccine skeptics.
HHS Plans ‘Bold, Edgy’ Campaign on Ultra-Processed Foods and Diabetes
The links between ultra-processed food and higher risk of diabetes will be the focus of the first wave of health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s national “Take Back Your Health” campaign, according to a notice posted on a government site for contractors.
The notice invites public relations agencies to pitch strategies for the launch of the ad campaign, “a wake-up call to Americans that eating processed foods dramatically increases the risk of diabetes and chronic disease.”
NBC News first reported in April on the Department of Health and Human Services’ plans for a national campaign focused on healthy eating and exercise, which could cost tens of millions of dollars over the next four years. The new notice estimates that the diabetes and ultra-processed foods campaign will cost between $10-20 million, and that following campaigns will be similar in size.
CDC Urges Summer Camps to Check for Measles Immunity, as U.S. Nears Record
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is now urging summer camp operators to check for documentation of immunity from measles through vaccination or prior infection for all children, staff and volunteers, amid a deadly year of outbreaks that is now near record levels.
“Measles can spread quickly in summer camps because campers and staff spend a lot of time together in close contact with each other. Measles is more than just a rash — it can cause serious complications or even death,” the CDC warned in a “checklist” for operators of summer camps published this week.
The agency’s new guidance says that tracking measles immunity status is important to help health departments quickly identify people who need to be vaccinated or offered antibody injections in the case of an outbreak within a camp. “Decide if you will allow unvaccinated campers and staff at your camp. Understand the risk if you do accept a camper or staff member who has not been immunized for measles,” the American Camp Association says in its guidance for camps, which shared the CDC’s checklist.
Other steps that the CDC recommends summer camps take to prepare for measles spread this year include stocking up on face masks and preparing a potential isolation space to separate campers who are sickened.
Michigan Lawmakers Want to Ban Synthetic Dyes, Additives in School Meals
The Manchester Mirror reported:
Should ultraprocessed foods be in Michigan’s school lunches? Some lawmakers say no, and are moving to ban a list of synthetic ingredients from schools. House Bill 4369, introduced by State Rep. Brad Paquette, R-Niles, would prohibit food distributors from providing schools with food that contain certain additives. The list of banned ingredients includes brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben and five synthetic dyes.
The bill comes after U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced in April the HHS and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration would phase out all petroleum-based synthetic dyes as part of the Make America Healthy Again movement. A similar federal bill banning 11 dyes and additives in ultraprocessed foods was introduced by U.S. Rep. Mike Kennedy, R-Utah, in April.
Foods with these ingredients are commonly marketed to children, Paquette told Bridge Michigan, and could potentially be linked to ADHD diagnoses.
FDA Must Fix Food Packaging Rules for MAHA to Matter, Scientists Say
A grim assessment of children’s health released by the Trump administration last month that pointed to several types of chemicals as contributors to chronic disease has scientists renewing calls for changes in regulatory oversight, particularly at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The FDA, like other federal agencies, has long maintained that common exposures to many pesticide residues and other chemical contaminants in foods are so low that they will not harm people’s health. But mounting research suggests otherwise, and many scientists have warned that the agency is missing “low-dose” effects and not properly evaluating potential harms from combinations of harmful chemicals.
RFK Jr.’s HHS Defends ‘Gold-Standard Science’ as Activists Demand Ban
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is facing backlash from key medical freedom allies, yet his agency insists that he is repairing trust in public health agencies before taking other actions. In response to a request for comment from The Dallas Express, an HHS spokesperson defended Kennedy’s recent guidance changes regarding COVID-19 vaccines, emphasizing that the administration is restoring the “doctor-patient relationship” and prioritizing “gold-standard science.”
The spokesman said that under Kennedy’s leadership, prior the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations for healthy children under 18 and pregnant women had been removed from the federal immunization schedule — though the department still encourages personal consultation with a healthcare provider.
“Secretary Kennedy is pro-safety, pro-transparency, and pro-accountability,” an HHS press officer said in an emailed statement. “He has made it clear that vaccine guidance — especially regarding healthy children and pregnant women — must reflect the latest science, individual risk profiles, and uphold the right of informed consent.”
