from the one-trick-phony dept
If you’re tired of Techdirt posts about RFK Jr.’s inability to competently lead HHS, I’m tired of him leading that organization, so too bad. The problem is that RFK Jr. represents something of a national health emergency, one that is multi-faceted. The most obvious bucket of fuckery in which he is operating is, of course, when it comes to vaccines, as Kennedy has been a anti-vaxxer for decades now. You should recall that Kennedy fired every member of ACIP, the immunization advisory panel at the CDC, only to appoint a cadre of anti-vaxxers and those otherwise aligned with his views on healthcare. This new version of ACIP predictably changed stances on all kinds of vaccines, especially mRNA vaccines for COVID. Not long after, Kennedy personally pulled federal funding for mRNA vaccines over the objections of all kinds of doctors and scientists.
As all of this was going on, at least one state began crafting legislation to bypass the CDC’s recommendations on vaccines and look instead for guidance from NGOs, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). The AAP had itself begun boycotting ACIP working sessions and vocally disagreeing with Kennedy on several healthcare issues, including vaccines. The problem, of course, is that the health insurance industry has largely looked to ACIP recommendations to determine what insurance will cover and what it won’t.
Well, AAP has just come out with its own vaccine schedule recommendations, differing greatly from the CDC’s, and has reportedly been working directly with insurance providers to push them to provide coverage.
In a clear rebuke to US health secretary and zealous anti-vaccine advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the American Academy of Pediatrics on Tuesday released its own evidence-based vaccination schedule for children—a task typically left to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and its trusted advisory committee.
The AAP’s vaccine schedule diverges from the CDC schedule under Kennedy on the recommendations for COVID-19 vaccines. After Kennedy’s unilateral change, the CDC no longer recommends routine COVID-19 vaccination for healthy children, but allows for the shots after a conversation with a child’s doctor. In contrast, the AAP—the largest pediatrics association in the country—recommends the shots for all children ages 6 months to 23 months, as well as high-risk children ages 2 to 18. Children not in these age or risk groups should also have access to the shots if desired, the AAP guidance says.
As the Ars post notes, school is starting and COVID infections are on the rise. Winter is coming, to borrow a phrase, and with it, other respiratory viruses. While insurance companies must cover vaccination schedules approved by the CDC, they are under no such obligation when it comes to AAP recommendations. Sean O’Leary of the AAP, however, has indicated that the insurance companies seem to be leaning toward accepting AAP’s recommendations and will provide coverage.
O’Leary told The Washington Post that insurers are “signaling that they are committed to covering our recommendations.” The Post also noted that AHIP, the major insurance lobby, released a statement in June saying its members are committed to “ongoing coverage of vaccines to ensure access and affordability for this respiratory virus season.”
Now, whether this is the insurance industry deciding to do the right thing on a rare occasion, or the companies have simply done the math that the vaccinations will cost less than covering the hospital visits for a truckload of unvaccinated children, is a matter ripe for debate. But it’s a good thing, nonetheless.
RFK Jr. is handling the news predictably.
Kennedy responded in a post on social platform X, calling the group’s recommendations “corporate friendly” because the AAP receives donations to its Friends of Children Fund from vaccine companies like Pfizer and Moderna, among others.
The philanthropic fund backs projects supporting child health and equity.
The HHS secretary said the organization should disclose “its corporate entanglements … so that Americans may ask whether the AAP’s recommendations reflect public health interest, or are, perhaps, just a pay-to-play scheme to promote commercial ambitions of AAP’s Big Pharma benefactors.”
AAP is very transparent about its funding, including its corporate partnerships. They have a whole page for it on their website. And, yes, of course there are pharma companies that sponsor via their philanthropic funds. But unless Kennedy wants to allege any specific tie between that funding and AAP recommendations, this is all just conspiracy-mongering in response to a differing view.
And it’s pretty damned rich for Kennedy to prattle on about corporate entanglements when his drafted MAHA report for childhood healthcare managed to dodge all of Kennedy’s hobbyhorses if they would in any way effect industry.
Kennedy claimed long ago that he had no intention of taking vaccines away from anyone. It’s so strange to see him so angry that he isn’t able to take vaccines away from children.
Filed Under: acip, cdc, covid, health and human services, insurance, rfk jr., vaccines
Companies: aap
