RFK Jr's Vaccine Rollback Puts Infants At Risk, Experts Warn
An interview with Dr Jeremy Faust. Plus: Netflix–Warner merger sparks antitrust outcry. More Epstein transcripts coming. Supreme Court sides with Texas. Trump gets soccer's first-ever peace prize.
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There’s a reason RFK Jr.’s takeover of our health institutions doesn’t lead every newscast: It’s technical, it’s incremental, and it’s happening in rooms most people have never heard of. That’s what makes it so effective.
Today I’m bringing you a conversation with Dr. Jeremy Samuel Faust — ER physician, public health expert, and one of the people breaking news on what’s happening inside the CDC and FDA on his Substack, Inside Medicine. We discuss Friday’s vote to roll back the universal hepatitis B vaccine recommendation (a program that cut infant infections by 99%); the new CDC deputy director, who ranked seventh in Louisiana for ivermectin prescriptions during COVID; and an administration preaching “safety” while gutting the systems that actually keep us safe.
Dr. Faust doesn’t mince words about RFK, Jr: “This man is a true menace to our public health, and he should resign or be fired.”
Watch this one. It’s worth your time. You can follow Dr. Faust on Instagram (@jeremysamuelfaust). Find the interview below.
In today’s newsletter: What the new hepatitis B recommendations mean. Trump receives a consolation peace prize… from the group that runs the soccer World Cup. Hollywood sounds the alarm over Netflix’s latest mega-deal. Surprise, the Jan. 6 pipe bomber seems to be an election conspiracist. The Supreme Court says gerrymandering is fine, actually. Lawmakers introduce competing healthcare plans. And some culture news, including an art installation that turns tech titans into picture-pooping robots. (Really.)
Interview: Dr Jeremy Faust
Here Are Your Headlines
Plan Hepatitis B: Health Secretary RFK Jr’s handpicked vaccine advisory panel voted to roll back the CDC’s universal hepatitis B vaccination policy. For 34 years, the CDC has recommended that all newborns get the vaccine within 24 hours of birth, a second dose between 1 and 2 months, and a third between 6 and 18 months. Since then, infant hepatitis B infections have fallen by 99%. The panel voted 8–3 to recommend the vaccine become “optional” for newborns whose mothers test negative for hepatitis B. (Dr Faust explains how this will likely lead to plummeting vaccine rates with potentially devastating results. See our conversation above.) If parents opt out, the panel recommends waiting until the child is at least two months old to vaccinate. The panel also voted 6–4 to add an unnecessary hurdle, requiring doctors test antibody levels in kids before giving them additional doses of the lifesaving vaccine. Before the panel’s recommendation becomes official policy, it will be considered by the acting director of the CDC, Jim O’Neil, a former biotech executive with no medical or scientific training.
The Response: Health experts widely condemned the decision, which goes against scientific evidence and global health policy. The president of the American Academy of Pediatrics warned it “leaves children vulnerable to infection.” Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), who cast the crucial vote to confirm RFK, called it a “mistake” that “makes America sicker.” The CDC itself estimates that the hepatitis B vaccine has prevented over six million infections and almost one million hospitalizations since 1994.
Chaos: The vote came after a chaotic meeting held in front of cameras in a broadcast studio instead of the usual conference room. Anti-vaccine activists with no medical credentials spread misinformation and ignored decades of scientific evidence. The vote, which had already been delayed once, was delayed again on Thursday after members became confused about what they were actually voting on.
In Cold Blood: The US military on Thursday struck another boat in the Eastern Pacific, killing four people. The strikes have now killed at least 87 people. This latest strike comes as the Pentagon’s official explanation for the “double-tap” strike that killed two survivors floating on wreckage is changing again. The latest: This week lawmakers were shown video of that second deadly strike, and Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT) called it “one of the most troubling things I’ve seen.” Unnamed sources recount that it shows the two survivors clinging to the wreckage “for about an hour as they tried [unsuccessfully] to flip the boat back over” and waving overhead, perhaps asking for help. Admiral Frank Bradley, who oversaw the attack, reportedly told lawmakers he concluded the boat remained afloat because of cocaine inside, justifying a second strike. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) agreed, saying the US was “right to kill them.” But a former legal advisor to the State Department explained that it would have been “unlawful to kill them if they [were] … incapacitated.” Also, according to Rep. Himes, the Pentagon told lawmakers “there had not been a ‘kill them all’ order” from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, nor was there “an order to grant no quarter.”
Fighting Back: The family of a Colombian fisherman allegedly killed in one of the deadly boat strikes has filed a complaint with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
Fate Unsealed: A federal judge on Friday granted the DOJ’s request to unseal grand jury transcripts from Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex trafficking cases and documents related to a separate investigation into Epstein. Maxwell’s lawyers argued on Wednesday that releasing these grand jury materials would undermine the possibility of her receiving a fair retrial, should that retrial be granted.
Streamlining: Netflix on Friday announced it will purchase Warner Bros.’ film and streaming assets in an $82.7 billion deal. The move was widely criticized by lawmakers and industry groups, including the Directors Guild, Writers Guild, and legendary director James Cameron, who said the takeover “would be a disaster.” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) warned the merger “would create one massive media giant with control of close to half of the streaming market.”
Pro Kids: A 22-year-old Chicago woman was on the way to visit her newborn in the neonatal intensive care unit when she was detained by immigration agents. She is one of over a dozen pregnant or postpartum women who have been detained by ICE, some of them allegedly shackled, placed in solitary confinement, or denied adequate medical care. For years, DHS had policies restricting the detention of these particularly vulnerable women, but the Trump administration abandoned them and Congress stopped requiring the administration report how many of these women are being detained; Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-IL) on Wednesday introduced a resolution calling on the Trump administration to reinstate the Biden-era policies and monitor health care in detention facilities.
Real Conspiracy: Federal agents arrested a man they believe placed two pipe bombs near the Capitol before the Jan. 6 insurrection — and he reportedly told them he believed the 2020 election was stolen from Trump. FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino is now trying to distance himself from his past claims that the FBI was involved in the pipe bomb plot, admitting he “was paid in the past … for my opinions … but that’s not what I’m paid for now.”
Go Ahead: The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled Texas may use its pro-GOP gerrymandered voting maps for the 2026 elections. In a fierce dissent, Justice Elena Kagan warned her colleagues had incorrectly overturned a detailed 160-page district court ruling that concluded the maps “violated all of our oft-repeated strictures about the use of race in districting.”
Long Shot: A bipartisan group of lawmakers on Thursday announced a new healthcare plan. The proposal would extend crucial health care subsidies for a year — but would also reduce their scope, including adding a new income limit.
Blue: Senate Democrats plan on forcing a vote next week to extend the current subsidies for three years. It’s expected to fail, though lawmakers hope Republican opposition will come back to haunt them in next year’s elections.
Red: Republican lawmakers are disgruntled at their inability to unite behind a a plan of their own; proposals include diverting funding to health savings accounts to help people pay out-of-pocket costs, allowing certain individuals access to the group healthcare market, and allowing people to deduct medical expenses and out-of-pocket premiums from their taxes.
Big Brother is Watching: State Department staff have been instructed to reject visa applications from individuals who worked in content moderation, fact-checking, or similar activities — that is, in the administration’s words, people “responsible for, or complicit in, censorship or attempted censorship of protected expression in the United States.”
Luck of the Draw: The Kennedy Center hosted FIFA President Gianni Infantino on Friday to set the matchups for next year’s World Cup, jointly hosted by the US, Mexico, and Canada. It’s the biggest World Cup ever — 48 teams across 12 groups — and each country’s path to victory hinges on which opponents they draw. The US men’s team landed one of the easiest groups; it will face Paraguay, Australia, and the winner of a playoff match, so no top-20 teams besides the US itself. By contrast, groups featuring France, England, and Brazil are stacked with powerhouses, making early elimination a real threat for major contenders. Trump meanwhile received the inaugural “FIFA Peace Prize,” an award FIFA created last month, shortly after Trump lost out on the Nobel Peace Prize he’d openly campaigned for. The award, which FIFA says honors “exceptional actions for peace,” came with a gold medal, a trophy, and a certificate. Trump called it “one of the great honors of my life.” Up next, the NHL Nobel Honor?
Culture, Not Noise
Keep reading for: The strangest town hall you’ve ever heard of; a new art project that has Elon Musk pooping pictures; what Palantir’s CEO thinks of ICE and Trump; and remembering one of America’s most iconic architects. To read all this and more, please consider a paid subscription. Your support makes our work possible. Thank you!
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