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A significant shift in U.S. public health policy may be on the horizon, as a close confidant of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suggests the Trump administration intends to remove the COVID-19 vaccine from the U.S. market in the coming months. This information, revealed to The Daily Beast, points to a controversial move that could reshape the nation’s pandemic response.
Key Influencer Dr. Aseem Malhotra’s Role
Dr. Aseem Malhotra, a British cardiologist known for challenging established scientific consensus regarding COVID-19 vaccine safety, delivered these revelations. Malhotra, a key advisor to the influential lobby group Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Action—often considered an extension of Kennedy’s policy objectives as Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary—claims that influential figures within Donald Trump’s family share Kennedy’s skepticism, despite lacking formal scientific qualifications. According to Malhotra, individuals close to RFK Jr. express bewilderment at the continued prescription of the vaccine. He anticipates a decision to withdraw the vaccine from the U.S. market, pending further investigation, will materialize “within months.” Malhotra acknowledged that such a move could trigger significant “fear of chaos” and substantial legal challenges.
Driving Force: A Controversial 2022 Vaccine Study
Central to the concerns voiced within Kennedy’s inner circle is a 2022 peer-reviewed paper published in the journal Vaccine. This study, authored by physicians and university researchers, conducted a secondary analysis of serious adverse events reported in clinical trials for Pfizer and Moderna mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. It concluded that recipients of mRNA vaccines faced a 16 percent higher risk of “excess serious adverse events” compared to placebo groups. However, a significant portion of the medical community has strongly criticized this study, citing methodological flaws, potentially biased data selection, and a failure to account for broader public health benefits, arguing it both underestimates vaccine benefits and exaggerates risks.
Malhotra, though not an author of the aforementioned 2022 paper, asserts he presented its findings during a MAHA Action video meeting on July 9, attended by senior Kennedy aides, reportedly eliciting a strong reaction. His influence with RFK Jr. began in September 2022 after he published a paper on COVID mRNA vaccine “misinformation,” leading to a television interview and a subsequent call from Kennedy praising his “courage.” Their relationship deepened, with Malhotra assisting Kennedy’s presidential campaign fundraising and joining him for hikes in October 2023.
Malhotra to Meet Trump, Forecasts “Lasting Legacy”
Looking ahead, Malhotra is slated to meet Donald Trump in September to advocate for his anti-mRNA vaccine perspectives. He believes Trump will embrace these views, seeing it as an opportunity to address perceived systemic issues and forge a “lasting legacy” by reforming the U.S. health system. “This information is only going in one direction,” Malhotra stated, “and there’s something really terribly wrong with the system.”
RFK Jr.’s Actions and Controversial Statements
This anticipated drastic action against COVID-19 vaccines follows Kennedy’s decision to cancel $500 million in funding allocated for mRNA vaccine development. These vaccines, which utilize messenger RNA to trigger an immune response, became widely used during the COVID-19 pandemic. Shortly after this funding cut, the HHS Secretary, who has controversially labeled the COVID shot as “the deadliest vaccine ever made,” reiterated his conviction that mRNA COVID-19 vaccines are hazardous and can cause “injuries,” including myocarditis—an inflammatory heart condition with potentially severe health implications. Concurrently, Kennedy, despite his lack of scientific qualifications, also made the unsubstantiated claim that there is no evidence linking football to brain damage.
Widespread Criticism and White House Response
The intensified debate around vaccine skepticism has been underscored by recent tragic events. An anti-vaccine individual recently attacked the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), resulting in the death of a police officer, with investigators linking the assailant’s motives to his fervent anti-COVID-19 vaccine beliefs.
In response, over 750 current and former staff from the CDC, HHS, and National Institutes of Health (NIH) issued a strong rebuke to Kennedy. In a letter to Congress and Kennedy, posted on the “Save HHS” website, they accused him of disseminating hazardous misinformation that fostered distrust and potentially contributed to the CDC shooting. They urged him to cease such actions, uphold CDC’s scientific integrity, and ensure workforce safety, arguing his rhetoric jeopardizes national health and public-health crisis preparedness. The letter stated: “Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., is complicit in dismantling America’s public health infrastructure and endangering the nation’s health by repeatedly spreading inaccurate health information.”
HHS, in a counter-statement, asserted Kennedy’s support for CDC employees’ safety, noting his visit to Atlanta post-shooting to offer condolences. HHS dismissed attempts to link “widely supported public health reforms” with the violence as an effort to “politicize a tragedy.”
The Daily Beast sought comments from the White House, HHS, Pfizer, and Moderna. Only the White House, through spokesman Kush Desai, responded, stating that the administration bases decisions on “Gold Standard Science” and “radical transparency,” and any discussions about HHS policy not officially announced should be considered “baseless speculation.”