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Kennedy Defends 12.5% HHS Cut Amid Blocked Vaccine Rollback

4/23/2026

Summary

Story summary

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. defended a 12.5% Health and Human Services (HHS) budget cut as committees on April 22, 2026 scrutinized his vaccine changes amid a measles outbreak.
Kennedy cut the childhood vaccine schedule from 18 to 11 diseases in January 2026, a change a judge blocked in March.
Vaccine policy expert Dorit Reiss and former CDC chief Dr. Deb Houry said Kennedy misrepresented data, lacked hepatitis B knowledge, and cherry-picked studies.

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Story summary

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. defended a 12.5% Health and Human Services (HHS) budget cut as committees on April 22, 2026 scrutinized his vaccine changes amid a measles outbreak.
Kennedy cut the childhood vaccine schedule from 18 to 11 diseases in January 2026, a change a judge blocked in March.
Vaccine policy expert Dorit Reiss and former CDC chief Dr. Deb Houry said Kennedy misrepresented data, lacked hepatitis B knowledge, and cherry-picked studies.