On September 18, 2025, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted eight to three to withdraw the Measles, Mumps, Rubella and Varicella (MMRV) childhood vaccine recommendation. This change to the vaccine schedule for children was the first policy change enacted by  Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s newly reconstructed and controversial committee, according to the BBC. It is unconscionable that  Kennedy Jr.’s preexisting anti-vaccine beliefs are infiltrating CDC vaccine policies. Kennedy has previously been a part of anti-vaccine advocacy groups that unethically claim that childhood vaccines are responsible for autism, according to Associated Press (AP) News. By weakening the long-standing practice recommendation for vaccinations, the CDC signaled that politics outweigh decades of proven scientific fact. This mistrust in medical science leads to further mistrust in our democratic institutions. CDC is polarizing science, and it is unethical creating inherent mistrust in other government institutions.

Since health policies are based on scientific fact, personal and political bias should never be involved in decision-making. The CDC is a renowned and respected platform which the general public and many doctors, rely on for recommendations about their health.  Citizens need to be able to trust the CDC to evaluate studies in a fair manner.

The committee insinuated that combining MMRV immunizations leads to a risk of febrile seizures. However, this is an incredibly rare side effect and did not necessitate a policy change, according to  The Hill. Kennedy Jr. has a long-standing history of opposing the MMR vaccine, according to NPR. Since there is no new evidence to substantiate this change, it appears that his personal beliefs were the primary motivating factor in his decision.

For the 15 years prior to this voting, the CDC recommended a combined MMRV shot for children under the age of four. This bipartisan decision was based on sound scientific safety data, according to the CDC. Due to the CDC’s strong vaccine guidance, the MMRV vaccine led to the elimination of measles in the United States in  2000, which can be credited for saving countless lives, decreasing the number of cases by 14% from the previous two years, according to the CDC. However, as vaccination rates fall with the new mandate changes, once prevented diseases are now resurfacing.  The United States has confirmed that there are 1,281 recorded measles cases in 2025, the highest number of measles cases since 2000, according to Johns Hopkins‘ International Vaccine Access Center (IVAC). If the number of MMRV vaccinations remains as is, measles could become an epidemic by 2050, according to the University of Minnesota‘s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP). Lower vaccination rates are leading to a surge in preventable diseases.  Lives are at stake, and the CDC’s guidance using the correct approach is vital. 

This policy change is a political intervention of misinformation about autism being directly connected to the vaccine into health policy rather than a health breakthrough.  Furthermore, this undermines decades of scientific legitimacy. The immediate risks of the public’s mistrust in the CDC are severe. When Kennedy Jr unnecessarily brought up the minimal flaw of the vaccination that one additional febrile seizure occurs among every three to four thousand in children with the MMRV vaccine compared to children without the vaccination. By bringing this minimal side effect to the forefront of the discussion, RFK Jr’s committee has unnecessarily sown doubt in the public’s perception of its efficacy, according to the CDC.

Beyond the resurfacing of previously eradicated diseases lies an additional problem, the erosion of institutional legitimacy. In the United States, trust in the CDC dropped from 66 percent to 54 percent in 2025, according to the University of Minnesota. When citizens are unable to rely on the CDC to advise them based on facts, their faith in other political institutions begins to deteriorate. In 2025, only 14% of parents expressed high confidence in the CDC because of all the chaos of the current administration, according to the American Journal for Medical Care. Spreading health misinformation becomes ammunition for political polarization. The goal of the CDC is to protect the public with reasoning based on unbiased scientific principles. Unfortunately, the current administration has weaponized science to further its political agenda. Whether it is the president ignoring economic reports and trying to manipulate the Chair of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell, or dismissing U.S. intelligence to dictate foreign policy for their own agenda, the public is losing faith in our political institutions. Analyzing data to make policy decisions should be based on facts and not political party issues. 

The CDC influences media and other public sources of perception, including targeted social media campaigns and direct engagement with news outlets. In 2023, the CDC started the “Let’s Stop HIV Together,” a social media campaign targeting younger audiences to promote HIV testing, prevention and treatment, according to the CDC. When parents are confused with the messages the CDC is sending out,   in 2025, approximately 16% of parents are currently rejecting vaccine recommendations, according to the American Journal for Medical Care. This may have the detrimental effect of parents choosing not to vaccinate their children, which will lead to the disease spreading.

While scientific research can be a lengthy process, it is essential for providing accurate and trustworthy results. The CDC’s Data Modernization Initiative is intended to provide faster insights across public health. Good data modernization should preserve scientific integrity without allowing politically appointed officials to override the process. While humans will always possess personal bias, the CDC must separate its preconceived notions from scientific fact. Modernization is becoming a cover for ideologues; trust and legitimacy are suffering. Instead, the CDC should actually modernize by including peer reviews and open public access to the methodology to maximize public trust. This should involve incremental, continuous change rather than a politically based whole reset. In the past, the CDC has received full support from both parties due to its reliance on science, according to Harvard Social Impact Review. Abandoning scientific independence risks collapsing support across the political spectrum as well as losing public trust.