Live Updates: RFK Jr. releases report on children’s health

The report didn’t cover violence and specifically gun violence, in children’s health and safety, as one reporter noted. 

Kennedy said the firearms question is a “complex question,” and the Trump administration is concerned with the “violence,” not the guns in a vacuum. 

There was an “onset” of violence with guns beginning in the 1990, Kennedy said. Kennedy said there were lots of guns when he was a kid. 

Kennedy said there are “many, many” things that happened in the 1990s, but one of them is the increased use of psychiatric drugs, Kennedy said. He also mentioned social media and video games. 

The NIH is initiating studies to look at the potential connection “between overmedicating our kids and this violence,” and those other potential factors as well, Kennedy said. 

Acting CDC Director Jim O’Neill said tools like vaccines that are meant to fight disease and save lives can “also trigger adverse events in some patients.”

“That truth must no longer be denied or distorted. We’re bringing transparency and research to this critical connection,” he said. 

Earlier this year, the FDA told Pfizer and Moderna to expand the warning labels for their COVID vaccines to include risk of a possible heart injury side effect.

The rates were still low, however. For example, the rate of myocarditis and pericarditis (an inflammation of the heart muscle and membrane surrounding the heart) was around 8 cases per million doses for children and adults under 65 years old after use of the 2023-2024 season vaccines, the FDA says.

The new warnings ordered by the FDA add that the “highest estimated incidence was in males 16 through 25 years of age,” with a rate of 38 cases per million.

Vaccines have vastly reduced deaths in early childhood and largely eradicated certain diseases that used to cause dreaded epidemics. 

A 2024 study led by the World Health Organization estimates that vaccines, including immunizations against polio, measles and 12 other once-common diseases, have saved an estimated 154 million lives worldwide over the past 50 years. Measles vaccines alone have averted the deaths of about 94 million people, the analysis found.

After previously downplaying the record-breaking measles outbreak and making several false and misleading claims about the safety of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, Kennedy eventually acknowledged the vaccine’s efficacy in April in an interview with CBS News.

Lee Zeldin, the Environmental Protection Agency administrator, said the American public can count on Trump, Kennedy and those speaking at the event to “help MAHA moms and dads across America” to “get the answers they deserve” about differing health concerns. 

He also said the EPA is addressing banned pesticides brought into the U.S. while also “accelerating innovative and vetted crop protection products.”

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins called upon all states to get waivers to restrict junk food from qualifying under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Rollins called on red states and blue states to “put the nutrition back in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.” 

So far, 12 states have issued waivers to restrict junk food and sugary drinks from qualifying for food assistance, she said. 

In his opening statement at the event, Kennedy said he was “so grateful” he works for a president that is willing to work toward MAHA’s goals. 

Kennedy praised Mr. Trump, saying, “I’ve had discussions with him about a certain injury or illness and… how unpopular it will be if we talk about the solutions or hurt certain businesses, and he said, ‘I don’t care.’ He says, ‘I don’t care. This is children.'”

“The president is fearless,” Kennedy said. 

While the report mentions using updated “Dietary Guidelines for Americans” to help inform multiple plans for better health in schools and beyond, it does not confirm when the new guidelines — which were expected earlier this summer — will be released.

The report said the U.S. surgeon general will launch an initiative to educate Americans on the effect of screens on children. NIH says heavy reliance on screen media can harm children’s cognitive, linguistic and social-emotional growth, contributing to obesity, sleep disorders and mental health struggles. 

The report says the FDA will continue to limit or prohibit the use of petroleum-based food dyes in all U.S. food products. The HHS had already called on companies to phase out all petroleum-based dyes by the end of next year, but had stopped short of imposing an outright ban.

The report said HHS will undergo “comprehensive reorganization” to create AHA, the Administration for a Healthy America, though it’s unclear if this will mean job cuts. The new agency structure will also include the launch of new offices under the NIH, according to the report.

The Department of Agriculture will work with states to restrict junk food purchases through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, formerly called food stamps. The federal government will also be working on “MAHA boxes” of “whole, healthy food” for SNAP recipients. 

The EPA will review “new scientific information” on the potential health risks of fluoride in drinking water to inform CDC recommendations, the report states. Following the completion of these studies on fluoride, the CDC and USDA will educate Americans on appropriate fluoride  levels, the report continued. 

The FDA will also evaluate fluoride products and remove any that are deemed unsafe, according to the report.

Kennedy has previously claimed fluoride is linked to a number of health problems, challenging the consensus among dental experts.  

Fluoride, which is added to most toothpaste brands as well as drinking water, is a mineral that helps strengthen teeth and reduces cavities. Researchers say drinking water is the main source for Americans.

The report did not list potential causes for autism, as some had expected. Instead, it says HHS “through NIH and in collaboration with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), will study the root causes of autism, including through the RWDP.” 

The report said HHS, in collaboration with NIH, “will investigate vaccine injuries with improved data collection and analysis.” The NIH, it said, will establish a new vaccine injury research program at the NIH Clinical Center “that may expand to centers around the country.” 

Kennedy has a long history of raising doubts about vaccines — despite decades of evidence showing they’ve saved millions of people from debilitating illness or death. 

In recent years, however, with backsliding immunization rates, health officials are starting to see the effects of skipping shots. And some experts worry terms such as “vaccine injury” could perpetuate fear and misinformation around safe and effective shots.

The MAHA report also said the White House Domestic Policy Council and HHS will develop a vaccine framework focused on “ensuring America has the best childhood vaccine schedule; addressing vaccine injuries; modernizing American vaccines with transparent, gold-standard science; correcting conflicts of interest and misaligned incentives; and ensuring scientific and medical freedom.” 

— Kathryn Watson and Sara Moniuszko 

In this new report, their plans to end chronic disease are broken down into four categories, including how the administration plans to advance research, realign incentives, foster private sector collaboration and increase public awareness.

The report does not say how the federal government will be paying for the new studies, commissions and benefits it recommends. There is also little detail on most of the recommendations and plans. It does not, as some had expected, list potential causes of autism. 

In May, the Make America Healthy Again Commission released a report on what they determined to be the leading drivers of childhood chronic disease, including: 

1. Poor diet and ultra-processed foods in particular.
2. Cumulative exposure to chemicals such as food additives and pesticides.
3. Lack of physical activity and chronic stress.
4. “Overmedicalization,” including over-prescribing and what it regards as the over-use of vaccines.