President Donald Trump is standing firm in his support for Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., despite significant backlash over changes being made to the U.S. healthcare system, particularly regarding vaccine policies.

• Kennedy has drastically cut funding for vaccine research, limited access to COVID-19 shots, and removed the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• Public health professionals warn these actions carry vast consequences and potential political peril, especially if infectious disease outbreaks occur.
• A Yale study indicated that COVID-19 vaccines prevented "more than 18.5 million additional hospitalizations and 3.2 million additional deaths" in the United States between December 2020 and November 2022.
• Polling shows a growing partisan divide on vaccine trust, with 75% of Democrats considering vaccines "very safe" for children compared to only 41% of Republicans.