Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

World Vaccine Congress Washington Tackles Anti-Vaccine Rhetoric in U.S. Politics

World Vaccine Congress Washington Tackles Anti-Vaccine Rhetoric in U.S. Politics

The World Vaccine Congress Washington is held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, April 23, 2025

(Erin Drumm/Medill New Service)

WASHINGTON—A vaccine policy expert challenged attendees of the World Vaccine Congress Washington to imagine a deadly disease spreading in various places around the country. We have the tools to stop it, but lawmakers were instead debating whether or not to use them.

In fact, that describes what is currently happening across the United States, according to Rehka Lakshmanan, M.H.A.


“Science is not a democracy,” said Lakshmanan, chief strategy officer of the Immunization Partnership, a non-profit that focuses on education and advocacy for immunizations.

Rehka Lakshmanan gives her lecture, “Anti-vaccine rhetoric in legislature,” at the World Vaccine Congress Washington, April 23, 2025.(ErinDrumm/Medill New Service).

And yet, since 2017, state legislatures around the country have been treating the science behind vaccinations as if it were debatable.

Legislation in some state capitols and skepticism towards vaccines by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have contributed to doubts about vaccines in the United States. Kennedy formerly chaired the anti-vaccine non-profit Children’s Health Defense and recently called autism an “epidemic,” claiming environmental factors caused it in a pressconference. But at the World Vaccine Congress Washington in the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, organizers and experts wrestled with the increasing politicization of vaccines.

Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter

Texas, where the Immunization Partnership is based, is the epicenter of the current measles outbreak. According to the Texas Department of Health and Human Services, 627 measles cases have been confirmed in Texas since late January.

Kennedy spoke out in favor of the measles vaccines after meeting with two families in Texas who lost children as a result of the measles outbreak.

“The most effective way to prevent the spread of measles is the MMR vaccine,” Kennedy said in a post on X.

A panel at the World Vaccine Congress, “Are we doing enough with regards to funding safety science to foster trust in vaccines?” discussed political rhetoric surrounding vaccines.

“We need to find some common ground here. And we can try to yell louder, but they have the microphone right now,” said Daniel Salmon, director of the Institute for Vaccine Safety at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “It shouldn’t be to fund terrible studies that confirm hypotheses that some people believe. It should be really high-quality, rigorous science, and let the findings be what they must.”

Salmon encouraged finding moments for cooperation even when that’s difficult. Other panelists were skeptical of finding common ground because of Secretary Kennedy’s past claims and his recent hiring of David Geier, who has tied vaccines to autism, as a data analyst at the Department of Health and Human Services.

“This is not the time to be trusting,” said Amy Pisani, chief executive officer of Vaccinate Your Family. “They don’t have any respect for institutions of higher learning or researchers that have credible backgrounds.”

While speakers at the conference differed in their opinions on how to approach the current presidential administration, they agreed that vaccine science should continue improving despite the fraught politics.

“Vaccine legislation introduced in state legislatures is the canary in the coal mine in terms of what we can potentially see in terms of a breakdown of policies in our states and across the country,” Lakshmanan said of the future of vaccines in U.S. politics.

Erin Drumm is a reporter for the Medill News Service covering politics. She graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2024 with a BA in American Studies and is now a graduate student at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism specializing in politics, policy and foreign affairs.

Read More

Jar full of american coins.

Jar full of american coins.

Getty Images, MariuszBlach

Congress Bill Spotlight: Suspending Pennies and Nickels for 10 Years

The Fulcrum introduces Congress Bill Spotlight, a weekly report by Jesse Rifkin, focusing on the noteworthy legislation of the thousands introduced in Congress. Rifkin has written about Congress for years, and now he's dissecting the most interesting bills you need to know about but that often don't get the right news coverage.

Trump recently discontinued production of the one-cent coin. What about the five-cent coin too?

Keep ReadingShow less
Anxiety, Fear, and Betrayal: The Emotional Impact of Trump’s 100-Day Blitz

U.S. President Donald Trump talks to reporters on April 23, 2025, in Washington, DC.

(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Anxiety, Fear, and Betrayal: The Emotional Impact of Trump’s 100-Day Blitz

Few can deny that whether you love or hate President Donald Trump, the first 100 days of his second term have been marked by bold and controversial actions that will shape American life for years, if not decades, to come. His administration has unleashed a torrent of dramatic moves: a record blitz of executive orders reshaping immigration, trade, and environmental policy; the escalation of trade wars, especially with China, that have rattled global markets; an aggressive effort to slash the size of federal agencies; and policy shifts in international relations, including a realignment on Russia and Ukraine. The stock market’s volatility reflects just how deeply these decisions are impacting the economic climate.

Yet, while the policy fireworks dominate headlines, a less visible but equally profound story is unfolding: the emotional toll Trump's presidency is having on millions of Americans.

Keep ReadingShow less
Just the Facts: Trump's First 100 Days

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he departs the White House on April 25, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Getty Images, Kevin Dietsch

Just the Facts: Trump's First 100 Days

The Fulcrum strives to approach news stories with an open mind and skepticism, striving to present our readers with a broad spectrum of viewpoints through diligent research and critical thinking. As best we can, we remove personal bias from our reporting and seek a variety of perspectives in both our news gathering and selection of opinion pieces. However, before our readers can analyze varying viewpoints, they must have the facts.

How has Trump's first 100 days compared to previous presidents, with respect to congressional legislation?

Keep ReadingShow less
How Trump’s First 100 Days Will Radically Alter Health Care

A patient with a medical professional.

Getty Images, Halfpoint Images

How Trump’s First 100 Days Will Radically Alter Health Care

As Donald Trump completes the first 100 days of his second term, the consequences of his early health care decisions are already coming into view. Through executive orders and agency directives, his administration has set a clear national agenda: cut costs, shrink government, and reduce federal oversight.

History shows that decisions made during a president’s first 100 days have an outsized impact on the nation’s future. In 2009, Barack Obama faced a similar window of opportunity. With unified control of the government and pressure to act quickly on health care, he confronted a fundamental choice: expand coverage, improve quality, or cut costs.

Keep ReadingShow less