President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday aimed at pulling federal funding from schools and universities that require vaccinations against COVID-19.
Trump’s executive order represents a pledge that he made on the campaign trail — although at times it was unclear whether he would only target schools that required COVID-19 vaccines, or schools that had any type of vaccine requirements. Common requirements include vaccinations against polio and measles, mumps and rubella.
Newly minted Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has expressed doubt about the efficacy of vaccinations and even helped spread false conspiracy theories that the jabs could cause harm.
Trump has given every indication that he is willing to capitulate to Kennedy’s theories.
On Thursday, the president signed an executive order titled “Establishing the President’s Make America Healthy Again Commission,” which outlined policy objectives and established Kennedy as head of the commission.
Language in the order hinted at conspiracy theories surrounding autism and even some long-prescribed psychiatric drugs; Kennedy’s commission is directed to assess the “prevalence of and threat posed by the prescription of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, stimulants, and weight-loss drugs.”
