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Vaccine disinformation has been coming from federal health agencies since President Donald Trump took office in January and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was confirmed as secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Many in the healthcare industry say false claims about vaccines are harming everyone from pharma companies and health systems to the autism community and public health at large.
Research has shown that decreasing public trust has led to lower vaccination rates. Some GOP leaders fostered distrust and even spread misinformation about Covid-19 vaccines, which led to preventable disease spread among more Republican voters in the US, according to research from Boston Medical Center.
“It’s really troubling, and it’s unfortunate that we are rehashing discredited claims [about autism] because it’s not only a waste of valuable resources but also a threat to public trust in life-saving immunization,” Kristyn Roth, chief marketing officer at the Autism Society, which supports the community through education and advocacy, told Healthcare Brew.
Industry impact
This renewed skepticism toward vaccines may have a negative impact on pharmaceutical companies, Rajiv Leventhal, senior analyst in digital health at research firm eMarketer, told us.
Biotechs, of course, want more uptake of their medications, he said. And while vaccines are not typically a huge revenue driver for pharmaceutical companies, a growing distrust toward those companies among some consumers could have a trickle down effect that may impact companies’ bottom line for bigger revenue generators, according to Leventhal.
In its Q4 2024 earnings for example, Merck reported $594 million in sales for MMR II, its measles vaccine, compared to $7.8 billion for its blockbuster cancer drug, Keytruda. In that earnings call, the company also noted a decline in vaccination rates among Americans, which was partly offset by a rise in vaccinations in other countries.
The nonprofit Center for Health Affairs reported that 92.7% of US kindergarteners had the measles vaccine in 2024, down from 93.1% in 2023 and 95% in 2019, before the pandemic.
“A lot of Big Pharma companies are trying to rebuild and maintain trust with consumers,” Leventhal said. “But the undermining going on right now at the top of federal health agencies is certainly thwarting some of those efforts.”
There could also be a domino effect on providers who have to care for more unvaccinated patients when they get sick. But that can be costly: A Peterson–KFF study estimated that caring for unvaccinated Covid-19 patients cost hospitals $13.8 billion from June to November 2021.
“That’s going to lead to a range of public health issues,” Leventhal said. “Providers…now have to deal with sicker patients. This is a workforce that’s already burned out and stressed.”
“Fear-based rhetoric”
Beyond the business impact, conflating “ autism with vaccine injury in itself not only spreads falsehoods but it harms the autism community [and] promotes stereotypes and fear-based rhetoric,” Roth said.
Amid the spread of vaccine skepticism from federal officials, the CDC is reportedly planning a study into whether vaccines cause autism to be led by David Geier, a vaccine skeptic. Weeks later, Kennedy also vowed to find the cause of autism this year, though experts say autism has already been extensively studied and its cause is widely believed to be genetic.
“The data is clear: Vaccines do not cause autism. This is based on years of study, scrutiny, repetition of very sound science,” American Public Health Association Associate Executive Director Susan Polan told Healthcare Brew in a statement. “Bringing a discredited researcher to lead a study with the expectation that there will be evidence-based and unbiased conclusions by September is ludicrous.”
More funding toward investigating a link between vaccines and autism, Roth said, may reduce resources that actually support people with autism, such as research and education.
At the same time, the federal government is slashing health programs, like for maternal health disparities and disease tracking.
“It’s fair and at times responsible for people to ask questions, and I think it’s equally as important for those questions to be answered with facts, not fear,” she said. “We’re seeing misinformation has real-world consequences” and a “resurgence of preventable diseases.”
Public health perspective
As doubt about vaccines rises among some Americans, a rise in illnesses like measles—800 cases so far in 2025 compared to 285 in 2024 and 59 in 2023 for the whole years—and whooping cough—23,000+ cases in 2024, up 500% from the previous year—have taken off, with at least two unvaccinated children in Texas dying of measles in early April. Kennedy eventually posted to X in support of the MMR vaccine after initially suggesting Vitamin A as a solution.
However, Kennedy has a history of controversial beliefs. He has long perpetuated the false idea that autism is caused by vaccines and chaired an anti-vaccine nonprofit called the Children’s Health Defense (though he divested from the organization seeking Senate confirmation).
Jay Bhattacharya announced this week that the NIH will develop a federal database to study autism and chronic disease after Kennedy said he would find the cause of autism.
“We have seen an increase in vaccine skepticism in the last several years coming out of Covid but what is going on now is ramping that up potentially beyond repair in the short term,” Polan said. “[Kennedy] now has an opportunity to use the bully pulpit of his position at the same time he is changing policies, cutting funds and staff to align with his anti-science approach.”
Without support from HHS, the CDC, and the Department of Education, “[people with autism’s] civil rights are threatened and really at risk of being taken away,” Roth said.
The CDC did not respond to a request for comment, and HHS declined to comment.