Two long-planned vaccine meetings — one at the US Centers for Disease Control and another at the US Food and Drug Administration — have now been disrupted under the watch of US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F.

The cancellation plays into fears among scientists who worry that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will use his position as health secretary to sow doubts about vaccines.

Epidemiologist Michael Osterholm, the head of the University of Minnesota Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, joined Morning Edition host Cathy Wurzer to talk about the implications of axing the meeting.

Before the measles vaccine, there were over 30 million cases of the disease worldwide each year.

RFK Jr. is gearing up for changes in vaccine policies, with respect to messaging and the composition of the advisory panel that makes recommendations to the CDC.

Trump’s favorite hometown paper just demanded Robert F. Kennedy Jr. convince them he’s not a “crank” and go to measles-hit Texas to “preach the truth” about vaccines. The New York Post’s Trump-endorsing editorial board called on the secretary of health and human services to “prove” that he really did believe in the safety and efficacy of vaccines in Thursday’s edition.

RFK Jr claimed to be in favor of vaccines while discussing a deadly measles outbreak at the latest cabinet meeting, and was immediately called out by his colleagues