A regular update on emerging federal vaccine issues. On Aug. 19, 2026, this list—drawn from news reports and other information—ranks the most significant changes to vaccination policy, with brief commentary from the editors.
VaccinesPeter Lurie, MD, MPH, Sarah Despres, Josh Rising, MD, MPH, Joshua M. Sharfstein, MD
The Trump administration is working to implement the president’s new order on childhood vaccines, which he publicly faulted for a rise in autism — even as health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s closed-door research has yet to produce evidence linking them. Many of Kennedy’s claims so far on autism have not withstood scientific scrutiny.
A regular update on emerging federal vaccine issues. On July 15, 2026, this list—drawn from news reports and other information—ranks the most significant changes to vaccination policy, with brief commentary from the editors.
VaccinesPeter Lurie, MD, MPH, Sarah Despres, Josh Rising, MD, MPH, Joshua M. Sharfstein, MD
A regular update on emerging federal vaccine issues. On May 15, 2026, this list—drawn from news reports and other information—ranks the most significant changes to vaccination policy, with brief commentary from the editors.
VaccinesPeter Lurie, MD, MPH, Sarah Despres, Josh Rising, MD, MPH, Joshua M. Sharfstein, MD
A regular update on emerging federal vaccine issues. On Apr. 16, 2026, this list—drawn from news reports and other information—ranks the most significant changes to vaccination policy, with brief commentary from the editors.
VaccinesPeter Lurie, MD, MPH, Sarah Despres, Josh Rising, MD, MPH, Joshua M. Sharfstein, MD
Since early 2025, several large federal health grants to states have been suspended and then restored after legal challenges. Hundreds of millions of dollars that had already been allocated by Congress were briefly put on hold before the court intervened. From the outside, these episodes may look like routine disputes between states and the federal government, as such cancellations do happen. But inside state agencies and in communities, they create something more consequential: uncertainty that interrupts crucial public health programs–even if states ultimately get the money.
Decades of strong science couldn’t be clearer: Vaccines do not cause autism. So where did the rumors linking vaccines and autism come from? And how do we know they’re not true?
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is spreading doubts about the safety of vaccines and considering changes that could prompt manufacturers to flee the U.S. market.
A regular update on emerging federal vaccine issues. On Mar. 10, 2026, this list—drawn from news reports and other information—ranks the most significant changes to vaccination policy, with brief commentary from the editors.
VaccinesPeter Lurie, MD, MPH, Sarah Despres, Josh Rising, MD, MPH, Joshua M. Sharfstein, MD
