RFK JR. Follows Through On Promise
In a moment that marked a dramatic shift in federal health policy, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has followed through on a key campaign promise: ending the emergency use authorizations that once powered sweeping COVID-19 vaccine mandates across the nation. With a clear-eyed, four-point plan laid out at the start of his tenure, Kennedy has not only fulfilled each item—but done so with precision that few anticipated.
Kennedy’s announcement, made via a detailed post on X (formerly Twitter), reads like a direct response to the public’s long-held frustrations: “I promised 4 things,” he wrote. “1. to end COVID vaccine mandates. 2. to keep vaccines available to people who want them, especially the vulnerable. 3. to demand placebo-controlled trials from companies. 4. to end the emergency.”
I promised 4 things:
1. to end covid vaccine mandates.
2. to keep vaccines available to people who want them, especially the vulnerable.
3. to demand placebo-controlled trials from companies.
4. to end the emergency.
In a series of FDA actions today we accomplished…
— Secretary Kennedy (@SecKennedy) August 27, 2025
According to Kennedy, those objectives have now been fully realized. On Wednesday, the FDA acted decisively, issuing formal marketing authorization for COVID-19 vaccines from Moderna, Pfizer, and Novavax—but only for individuals in higher-risk categories. Gone are the sweeping emergency authorizations that justified workplace mandates, travel restrictions, and school-based requirements. What remains is choice—vaccines are now available to those who consult with their physicians and wish to receive them. Mandates are, officially, a thing of the past.
Kennedy’s tone was confident but grounded: “The American people demanded science, safety, and common sense. This framework delivers all three.” It’s a statement that underscores the administration’s broader approach: restore public trust, eliminate coercion, and refocus the nation’s health priorities.
Notably, this move arrives just as the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) issued a surprising recommendation that all children between six and 23 months receive the COVID vaccine—a directive that now directly contradicts the updated guidance from HHS under Kennedy’s leadership. The tension between legacy medical institutions and the new federal direction is unmistakable. And it’s not accidental.
This is a screenshot from American Academy of Pediatrics’ webpage, thanking the organization’s top corporate donors. These four companies make virtually every vaccine on the CDC recommended childhood vaccine schedule. AAP is angry that CDC has eliminated corporate influence in… pic.twitter.com/WtWe6vnUrw
— Secretary Kennedy (@SecKennedy) August 19, 2025
Kennedy has long criticized the entanglement between Big Pharma and public health agencies, and his pushback against the AAP’s latest guidance reveals a growing divide. Under his watch, the CDC’s immunization schedule has now removed COVID-19 vaccination as a blanket recommendation for healthy children—a stark departure from the all-ages, all-situations approach of previous years.
The implications here are enormous. The end of emergency use isn’t merely symbolic—it represents a tangible break from a policy era marked by overreach, questionable data, and institutional mistrust. For millions of Americans who felt steamrolled by bureaucratic mandates and silenced in their skepticism, this moment signals a return to medical autonomy and accountability.
