Photo illustration of several MMR vaccine bottles torn in half on bright orange background
Anna Yeo/STAT

By Rachel Cohrs Zhang

Nov. 15, 2024

Chief Washington Correspondent

WASHINGTON — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Trump’s nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services, has criticized laws that provide companies that make vaccines with protections from lawsuits. If he takes office, he has broad power to strip those protections, experts told STAT.

Most routine vaccines have had protections from lawsuits for nearly 40 years, and vaccines developed to address emergencies have enjoyed protections for 20. For the most part, the programs have been uncontroversial. 

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But that all ended during the Covid-19 pandemic, when programs meant to compensate people with severe side effects from vaccines were stretched, distrust in science rose, and routine policy decisions related to vaccines became highly politicized. 

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  1. Rachel Cohrs Zhang

    Chief Washington Correspondent

    Rachel Cohrs Zhang reports on the intersection of health policy and business in Washington. She covers Capitol Hill, lobbying, and federal agencies. Her primary areas of focus are the pharmaceutical and hospital industries. She is also the co-author of the free, twice-weekly D.C. Diagnosis newsletter.