This week in “science” according to politicians, President Donald Trump and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are now warning pregnant women to avoid Tylenol — yes, Tylenol — because of its supposed link to autism. Never mind that there’s no strong scientific evidence to back that up. It’s just the latest example of a clear trend in this administration: ideology-first policymaking.

Last week, a low-profile but high-stakes meeting on the country’s vaccine guidance flew under the radar, but there was major drama — and again more ideology on display than science.

Kennedy’s handpicked vaccine advisory committee met to update the schedule recommended to millions of parents across the US.

The meeting was chaotic and confusing — even to some of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices members. “I’m not sure what I’m voting on,” said Cody Meissner, one of its members. By the end of a grueling two-day session, the results were mixed. The committee walked back its previous recommendation of the Covid vaccines and postponed a vote that would delay the first vaccination for hepatitis B in newborns. But it did recommend that children under 4 years old shouldn’t get a combined MMRV shot — and should instead get separate ones for MMR and chickenpox, or varicella.

The chaotic meeting underscored our fractured state of public health guidance and what it means for our future. If even top government health officials can’t agree on immunizations, how are parents supposed to know what’s best for their kids?

To untangle all of this, we spoke with Dr. William Moss, a former pediatrician and professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the executive director of the International Vaccine Access Center. We get into the history of vaccination schedules, why countries can’t agree on the same one,........

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