Consider This from NPR

Episode: Navigating Vaccine Misinformation with a Pediatrician
Date: November 24, 2025
Host: Scott Detrow (NPR)
Guest: Dr. James Campbell, Professor & Pediatrician, University of Maryland School of Medicine

Episode Overview

In this episode, NPR unpacks the implications of controversial new guidance from the CDC regarding vaccines and autism, spurred by directives from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Amid a surge in vaccine misinformation, host Scott Detrow speaks with Dr. James Campbell, a pediatric infectious disease specialist, about how parents and practitioners should navigate these changing and conflicting messages — and what the future may hold for vaccine policy and public trust.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The CDC Guidance Shift and Its Origins

• Background:
  • Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a long-time vaccine skeptic, is now HHS Secretary ([00:00]–[00:30]).
  • Kennedy directed the CDC to update its online guidance, stating that a link between vaccines and autism “cannot be ruled out,” contradicting decades of scientific consensus ([00:30]–[01:13]).
• Public and Expert Reaction:
  • Physicians and public health experts are “stunned” by the move ([01:13]–[01:50]).
  • Republican Senator Bill Cassidy emphasizes, “Anything that undermines...the absolute scientifically based understanding that vaccines are safe…is a problem.” ([01:13])
  • Dr. Paul Offit calls the change a “shredding” of CDC credibility ([01:41]).

2. The Impact on Families, Trust, and the Medical Community

• Dr. Sean O’Leary (American Academy of Pediatrics):
  • Warns: “I fear that it’s going to lead to fewer children being vaccinated, children suffering from diseases they didn’t need to suffer from.” ([02:04])
• Dr. Campbell on the CDC Shift:
  • CDC website changes have not been drafted by their own public health experts.
  • “It’s confusing for the general public, it’s confusing for practitioners and for parents to see guidance that is not aligned.” ([04:21])
  • Reassures that the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) continues to base its guidelines on rigorous science.

3. Navigating New Challenges as a Pediatrician

• On How Conversations With Families Are Changing:
  • Dr. Campbell: The introduction of “controversy between the different groups that make recommendations” complicates conversations with parents ([06:03]).
  • “Trying to explain the different recommending bodies and why one body would choose one thing and another…I think is going to make those conversations even more difficult.” ([06:03])
• Message to Worried Parents:
  • “I’m a parent too, and I vaccinate and have vaccinated all my children because…after reviewing all of those data, I know just how much goes into checking on their safety, on their tolerability, on their efficacy.” ([07:19])
  • Shares firsthand stories of children suffering — and dying — from vaccine-preventable diseases: “All of those were preventable problems with simple vaccination.” ([07:19])

4. Concerns About the Future of Vaccine Policy

• Potential Upcoming Changes:
  • Dr. Campbell highlights an imminent CDC meeting that will review hepatitis B vaccine recommendations and the entire pediatric vaccine schedule ([08:25]).
  • Recalls the dramatic decline in pediatric hepatitis B cases due to current vaccine policies:
    • “We now have reduced that number from the 18 to 20,000 down to a few dozen every year…If we stop doing that, we will see more children with hepatitis B and those children will suffer immensely.” ([08:25])
  • Emphasizes: “We do not add things to the schedule unless we find them to be safe and effective.” Warns of the danger in revisiting established science without new evidence ([09:34]).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Senator Bill Cassidy (CNN):

  • “Anything that underlines that message [that vaccines are safe] is a problem.” ([01:13])

• Dr. Paul Offit:

  • “Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has shredded the CDC and made it in his image, which is to say an anti-science, anti-vaccine image.” ([01:41])

• Dr. Sean O’Leary (AAP):

  • “This is madness.” ([01:59])
  • “I fear that it’s going to lead to fewer children being vaccinated, children suffering from diseases they didn’t need to suffer from.” ([02:04])

• Dr. James Campbell:

  • On current CDC changes:
    “Recently they’ve not really been given the opportunity to continue to do that stellar job of providing evidence-based guidance. And essentially website pages and others have been hijacked, if you will… I think if you talk to the people that work in this field in the CDC, they’re going to tell you they had no part in changing those guidelines.” ([04:21])
  • To skeptical parents:
    “I’m a parent too, and I vaccinate and have vaccinated all of my children because after reviewing all of those data, I know just how much goes into checking on their safety, on their tolerability, on their efficacy.” ([07:19])
  • On disease impact:
    “I am…an infectious disease doctor who spends his time in the hospital caring for children who have very severe disease because they were not vaccinated…All of those were preventable problems with simple vaccination.” ([07:19])
  • On risk in rolling back hepatitis B vaccine policy:
    “If we stop doing that, we will see more children with hepatitis B and those children will suffer immensely.” ([09:02])
  • On review of vaccine schedule:
    “We have always looked at the schedule and we do not add things to the schedule unless we find them to be safe and effective. And so a relooking at the schedule without any additional data is worrisome to us…” ([09:34])

Recommended Timestamps for Key Segments

• CDC’s new vaccine guidance and RFK Jr.’s influence: [00:00]–[01:50]
• Expert reactions and fear of public health backslide: [01:13]–[02:16]
• Interview with Dr. Campbell begins: [03:47]
• Dr. Campbell on CDC guidance and its effects: [04:21]–[06:55]
• Advice to worried parents and vaccine skepticism: [06:55]–[08:10]
• Fears about future CDC policy changes: [08:10]–[10:23]

Conclusion

This episode of Consider This delves into the growing concern over federal government-driven vaccine misinformation, examining its effects on families, physicians, and public health as a whole. Dr. Campbell urges parents to trust in rigorous, science-based pediatric guidelines, and warns of the serious risks that could arise from reversing policies proven to save children’s lives. The episode stands as both a call to vigilance and a reaffirmation of the importance of evidence in public health decision-making.