Podcast Summary: Bulwark Takes — "RFK Jr. Cuts America’s Childhood Vaccine Schedule"

Date: January 6, 2026
Hosts: JVL (The Bulwark), Jonathan Cohn (The Bulwark)

Episode Overview

In this episode, JVL and Jonathan Cohn break down the significant shift in American public health policy following the Kennedy administration’s decision to drastically reduce the number of recommended childhood vaccines from 17 to 11. They discuss the process behind the change, the likely consequences for health access, liability and insurance complications, and what this means for the future of public health. The tone is urgent, skeptical, and at times darkly wry, reflecting deep concern about the state of science-driven policy in the U.S.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. What Just Happened: The Vaccine Schedule Cut

• [01:15] RFK Jr.’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reduced the recommended childhood vaccine schedule from 17 to 11.
• Vaccines cut from the schedule include those for RSV, meningococcal disease, Hepatitis A and B, among others.
• Some, like MMR (measles, mumps, rubella), chickenpox, and polio, remain recommended.
• [02:32 | JVL:] “Yay. You could still get your measles vaccine.”
• There are new hurdles for children to receive flu, COVID-19, and rotavirus vaccines, which now require ‘shared clinical decision making’ — meaning you must see a doctor, instead of just getting them at a pharmacy.

2. Was This Expected?

• [02:44] Jonathan explains this outcome was anticipated due to prior moves by RFK Jr., including stacking the CDC’s advisory committee with vaccine-skeptical individuals and floating the idea at a December meeting.
• The pretext given: other countries (e.g., Denmark) recommend fewer vaccines, so the U.S. should as well.
• Bureaucratic and potential political delays meant the announcement dropped after the holidays.
• There’s skepticism about the process and legal justifications behind these decisions.

3. Impact on Access and Insurance

• [04:28] The path to accessing eliminated or downgraded vaccines is murky.
• While HHS claims insurance will still cover these vaccines, there is very little specific guidance, and much will depend on where you live.
• [05:28] CDC recommendations aren’t binding — states and insurers often make their own decisions, creating fragmentation and potential confusion.
• Early evidence from the COVID-19 vaccine policy shift: when recommendations changed, pharmacies became confused, some insurers dropped coverage, and fewer people got vaccinated.
• [07:15 | JVL:] “So a lot of this is going to depend, like so much else in American life, where you live, because we are now breaking down in ways where fundamental rights and freedoms vary drastically based on whether or not you live in a red state or a blue state. That’s great. Nothing bad has ever come of that.”

4. Bigger Project: Blocking, Not Just Opting Out

• The hosts stress this is not just about individual opt-out. The ultimate goal seems to be making it harder — or impossible — for others to vaccinate as well.
• Concerns raised about malpractice insurance: if state recommendations are pulled, will doctors still be able to prescribe these vaccines without exposing themselves to liability?
• [08:52 | Jonathan:] “People haven’t even started talking about that yet. ... Liability is a really important issue in vaccine production for the manufacturers.”

5. Threats to Vaccine Supply & Liability Protections

• The U.S. set up a no-fault vaccine injury compensation program to keep manufacturers in the business by shielding them from potentially ruinous lawsuits.
• Pulling vaccines off the official schedule may, depending on legal interpretation, remove those liability protections — threatening supply.
• [10:48 | Jonathan:] “One of the possibilities ... is that when vaccines come off the schedule … [manufacturers] might not fall under this liability shield … and we'd be back to a world where manufacturers were … constantly labor under the specter of a giant judgment.”

6. Is This the Beginning or the End?

• [11:48] JVL asks if this is the anti-vaccine movement’s endgame.
• Jonathan predicts this is only a beginning: further steps threatened include fundamentally weakening the vaccine injury system, e.g. adding autism (groundlessly) as compensable, potentially bankrupting the program.
• There is no scientific justification for these moves; it is about stacking the deck against vaccines.
• [13:40 | Jonathan:] “This was basically some of Kennedy’s hand-picked people putting up this idea and then green lighting it. ... There was a time when the CDC was the gold standard ... and now you have lots of people basically walking around saying, ‘Don’t listen to the CDC,’ which is just a very tragic thing.”

7. Can We Ever Go Back?

• [14:04] JVL raises a philosophical and structural question: Is a rules-based public health regime possible if recommendations shift every four years with election results?
• [15:27 | Jonathan:] “You can rebuild it ... but part of that is making sure this current period both seems and is thought of as an outlier.”
• JVL doubts people will ‘snap out of it’ simply because of bad outcomes, referencing America’s COVID-19 response and subsequent elections.
• [17:54 | JVL:] “A million people died from COVID-19 in the greatest public health failure in this nation’s history. ... And three years later, this same country reelected the guy who did that failure. So I don't know, man … I don’t think that’s how America works.”

8. Closing Sentiment

• The exchange ends on a note equal parts gallows humor and warning.
• [18:35 | JVL:] “Hit like, hit subscribe. Follow us as we continue the rocket sled to hell. Hello, 2026. We're back with the Bulwark. Good luck, America.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "This is about putting a thumb on the scale against vaccines with no scientific backing." - Jonathan ([12:55])
• "Is this the beginning or is this the end?... I don't think this is over by any stretch." - Jonathan ([12:05])
• "There was a time when the CDC was the gold standard for these kinds of decisions. And now ... people ... say, 'Don't listen to the CDC,' which is just a very tragic thing." - Jonathan ([13:40])
• "You can't have a rules based system which only exists like every four years, can you? ... That just destroys the entire public health thing." - JVL ([14:34])
• "A million people died from COVID ... and three years later, this same country reelected the guy who did that failure. So I don't know, man ... I don’t think that’s how America works." - JVL ([17:54])
• "Follow us as we continue the rocket sled to hell. Hello, 2026." - JVL ([18:35])

Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:15] – Announcement and rundown of vaccines removed from schedule
• [02:44] – Background on the policy process and committee changes
• [04:28] – New hurdles for vaccine access and insurance uncertainties
• [07:15] – State-by-state divergence and the creation of health disparities
• [08:52] – Legal and liability implications for providers and manufacturers
• [11:48] – Will this rollback go further? Endgame discussion
• [14:04] – Can trust in public health policy be restored? Structural doubts
• [17:54] – Pessimism about public backlash and political consequences

Overall Tone

The hosts are clear-eyed, detailed, and forceful. Their discussion is alarming but delivered with the blunt, occasionally sarcastic style characteristic of The Bulwark. Insights are anchored by expertise, and the sense of urgency is palpable, with repeated calls to recognize these developments as breaks from both scientific consensus and American public health tradition.