Under the guidance of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., rather than relying on evidence-based recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to inform vaccination decisions, it is now recommended that vaccination involve a discussion between patients and their physicians.

Enabled by Kennedy, Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo just brought this position to children by calling for the elimination of school vaccination requirements.

The stance empowers individuals not to get vaccinated. It also means that Americans are on their own, pushed to web-based information to make decisions without the ability to discern fact from falsehood, putting children and adults in harm’s way. 

These difficult times for the public and for public health have increased considerably following the ouster of the CDC director and the resignation of senior leadership.

Not long ago, Americans overwhelmingly respected the opinion of experts trained by the American education system. Experts and science-based recommendations, though, have become inconvenient political narratives, and it is increasingly politically expedient for political figures to undermine scientific evidence.

© The Hill