January 22, 2026
(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) —Earlier this week, STAT News reported that RFK Jr. has removed four of nine members from the Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines (ACCV). The panel was established under the 1986 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act and is responsible for advising the Health and Human Services Secretary on which vaccines and injuries are eligible for compensation.
In response to RFK Jr.’s latest move to dismantle the U.S. vaccine schedule and compensation program, 314 Action President Shaughnessy Naughton released the following statement:
314 Action is leading the charge to connect the dots on RFK Jr.’s actions as Health and Human Services Secretary and his financial ties to vaccine injury lawsuits—he’s profited in the past from vaccine injury litigation.
“RFK Jr.’s scheme to expose vaccine makers to greater liability is diabolical. No one is surprised that he’s continuing his lifelong campaign promoting disproven theories around safe and effective vaccines—but what is surprising is how brazenly he’s using his position as HHS Secretary for personal and financial gain. It’s a major conflict of interest and a moral crisis—RFK Jr. and his family stand to make millions while kids get sick and die from preventable diseases.”
“Let’s all remember: RFK Jr. is a trial attorney first—that’s how he operates. Changes to the routine childhood vaccine schedule and the removal of four ACCV panel members are all part of RFK Jr.’s plan to raid the compensation fund, expose vaccine manufacturers to an avalanche of lawsuits and secure his retirement.”
314 Action was the first to uncover RFK Jr.’s financial ties to vaccine injury lawsuits ahead of his confirmation nearly one year ago. Before taking office, he earned nearly $2.5 million in referral fees from Wisner Baum—a California-based law firm involved in major vaccine lawsuits, where his son Conor Kennedy is an Associate. If successful, RFK Jr. and his family stand to make more money from vaccine injury lawsuits through the anti-vaccine group Children’s Health Defense and cases referred to his son at Wisner Baum.
Naughton added, “This is all part of his grand plan, which could lead to nationwide vaccine shortages, higher insurance costs and ultimately drive vaccine manufacturers out of the U.S.— that’s the ultimate goal.
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Background:
- RFK Jr. earned nearly $2.5 million dollars in referral fees from the law firm Wisner Baum which is suing Merck over side effects related to the Gardasil HPV vaccine.
- During RFK Jr.’s Senate confirmation hearings, 314 Action launched a pressure campaign urging Senators to question RFK Jr.’s financial ties to law firms suing vaccine makers.
- Before his 2024 presidential run, RFK Jr. earned a six-figure salary fromChildren’s Health Defense, an organization that frequently litigates against vaccine injuries.
- In January 2026, HHS announced major changes to the U.S. childhood vaccine schedule reducing the number of recommended routine vaccines from 17 to 11, removing flu, COVID-19, rotavirus, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and meningococcal vaccines from routine lists and removed four members of the Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines (ACCV).
- The next step is to amend the Vaccine Injury Table to widen the criteria people can make claims on. The last time the Vaccine Injury Table was revised was January 3, 2022. The table has not been amended since then.