Just days after anti-vaccine advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. became the country's top health official, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has already pulled back some of its efforts to protect Americans with safe, lifesaving vaccines. The agency has indefinitely postponed a public meeting of its vaccine advisory committee and killed a campaign promoting seasonal flu shots.

Last weekend, a Washington Post columnist noted on Bluesky that the CDC's effective "Wild to Mild" seasonal flu shot campaign had vanished. The campaign highlighted how the seasonal vaccines can prevent influenza infections from becoming severe or life-threatening. It used animals as an analogy for the diminished threat of the flu virus after vaccination, juxtaposing a lion and a domestic kitten in one ad while showing an elephant and a mouse in another. The CDC page no longer leads to a "not found" landing page, but it wasn't restored either. It now redirects to a 2023 article announcing the campaign, which does not contain the shareable resources found on the original page. The removal is startling given that the US is currently battling one of the worst flu seasons in 15 years.

NPR first reported that CDC staff were told in a meeting Wednesday, February 19, the campaign was halted. In a story Thursday, Stat News added more context to the decision. According to the outlet's sources, the Department of Health and Human Services’ assistant secretary for public affairs informed the CDC that Kennedy wanted vaccine advertisements to emphasize "informed consent" instead.

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The US Senate on Thursday confirmed the long-time anti-vaccine advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services.

The vote was largely along party lines, with a tally of 52 to 48. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R–Ky.), a polio survivor and steadfast supporter of vaccines, voted against the confirmation, the only Republican to do so.

Before the vote, Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.) claimed that if there had been a secret ballot today, most Republicans would have voted against Kennedy. "But sadly, and unfortunately for America, Republicans are being strong-armed by Donald Trump and will end up holding their nose and voting to confirm Mr. Kennedy... What a travesty," Schumer said.

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• Pfizer's CEO Albert Bourla said that he's had dinner with Trump's health secretary pick, RFK Jr.
• Bourla said he was "cautiously optimistic" about the new administration.
• Kennedy is now close to securing the health secretary position, pending a Senate vote.

Pfizer's CEO said that he had dinner with President Donald Trump's pick for health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

In a Tuesday earnings call, CEO Albert Bourla said Trump had introduced him to Kennedy, a longtime vaccine critic, and the duo ended up having dinner together.

Bourla did not specify when he met with Kennedy, but said they'd talked about topics they could agree on and "not on the things that we clearly disagree, like the vaccines."

"And those are things in chronic diseases, in cardiovascular diseases, and more importantly, in cancer, which is something that is very, very high in the mind of the president. And it is also very in the mind of Mr. Kennedy," Bourla told investors.

Bourla added that he was "cautiously optimistic" about the new administration.

"I think there are a lot of opportunities that probably outweigh the risks that we have with the radical change that we will see from the Trump administration," he said.

Bourla said that he thinks the administration would not like to see "another health crisis," and is optimistic that "they will be very, very prudent with everything they try to do."

Pfizer, one of the world's biggest pharmaceutical companies, produces medicines and vaccines.

Kennedy, a former environmental justice lawyer, ran for president himself before dropping out of the race in August. He then aligned himself closely with Trump, who, after the elections, tapped him to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.

Kennedy has also established a new MAHA — Make America Healthy Again — movement, which has called to remove vaccine mandates and lobby against fluoride in the water system.

Kennedy's tough stance on vaccines

Kennedy has taken a tough personal stance on vaccines.

In 2023, Kennedy vowed to slash funding for federal health agencies that regulate childhood vaccines if elected president.

And in May 2021, he was one of two people who jointly petitioned the Food and Drugs Administration, urging it to "immediately revoke" emergency use authorizations that allowed children under 16 to take the Pfizer and other COVID vaccines.

But shortly after Trump's November win, Kennedy told NBC that he would not "take away anybody's vaccines," but would let them choose if they wanted to be vaccinated.

On Tuesday, he moved closer to becoming health secretary after winning the crucial support of Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, a former physician.

Kennedy's nomination cleared a key hurdle and passed the Senate Finance Committee, who voted along party lines to move it forward. His nomination is now slated for a full Senate vote.

Representatives for Kennedy and Pfizer did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider, sent outside regular business hours.

• The secretary of defense nominee pledged to re-recruit troops discharged over COVID-19 vaccine refusal.
• Over 8,400 troops were separated due to the vaccine mandate, which has now been rescinded.
• Hegseth said discharged troops should receive back pay, restored ranks, and an apology.

President-elect Donald Trump's pick for secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, pledged Tuesday to re-recruit troops forced out of the military for refusing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, and said they would receive back pay, restored ranks, and an apology.

"Service members who were kicked out because of the experimental vaccine," Hegseth told lawmakers, "they will be apologized to. They will be reinstituted with pay and rank."

Hegseth, if confirmed by the Senate, would build on the groundwork laid by Trump, who told supporters last summer he would "rehire every patriot who was fired from the military," because of the vaccine mandate.

Over 8,400 troops were separated from the services after refusing to receive the vaccine following a lawful order from Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in 2021. The Pentagon argued that the vaccines, similar to over a dozen others servicemembers receive, were crucial to military readiness.

The Pentagon reversed course and dropped the vaccine mandate in 2023 following a decision by Congress. At that time, it stopped separating troops who had not received the shot. Roughly 99% of the active-duty Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force had been vaccinated and around 98% of the Army. Guard and Reserve rates were lower but over 90%.

Sen. Jim Banks, a Republican from Indiana, asked if Hegseth Tuesday if he would commit to "recruit these folks back" with back pay.

"I will commit to this because the Commander in Chief has committed to this," Hegseth replied. "Not only will they be reinstated, they will receive an apology, back pay, and rank that they lost because they were forced out due to an experimental vaccine."

Top military brass considered the possibility of providing back pay to troops after the vaccine mandate was repealed in early 2023, but Hegseth's remarks Tuesday drive home the incoming administration's intent to re-recruit separated troops back into the military. It is the first such indication since Trump won reelection in November.

Such a change could affect the Marine Corps, the DoD's smallest service, the most — of the roughly 8,400 troops discharged, 3,717 were Marines. For the other services, 2,041 were discharged from the Navy, 1,841 from the Army, and 834 from the Air Force.

Republicans have long criticized these separations, arguing they were unnecessary and detrimental amid US military recruitment struggles. The military, however, maintained that the mandate was a lawful order essential to readiness and the well-being of the force.

Louisiana's health department has been barred from advertising or promoting vaccines for flu, COVID-19, and mpox, according to reporting by NPR, KFF Health News, and New Orleans Public Radio WWNO.

Their investigative report—based on interviews with multiple health department employees who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation—revealed that employees were told of the startling policy change in meetings in October and November and that the policy would be implemented quietly and not put into writing.

Ars Technica has contacted the health department for comment and will update this post with any new information.

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