RFK Jr.'s MAHA report takes aim at vaccines, American diet, and pharma practices

A sweeping new health policy document released Thursday by the US government has ignited political and scientific debate, embracing positions long championed by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on vaccines, food safety , pesticides, and pharmaceuticals.

Titled Make America Healthy Again (MAHA), the 68-page report was developed under Kennedy’s leadership in coordination with senior Trump administration officials. While not legally binding, it will shape the MAHA Commission’s strategy over the next 100 days, with implementation expected before the end of President Donald Trump ’s term. Kennedy declined to name the report’s authors during a press briefing.

“We will save lives by addressing this chronic disease epidemic head on,” Kennedy said. “We’re going to save a lot more money in the long run — and even in the short run.”

The document attempts to trace the root causes of rising childhood health issues , including obesity, autoimmune disorders, and behavioral conditions. It calls for stricter oversight of childhood vaccination schedules, a reassessment of agricultural pesticide use , and urgent attention to overmedication and nutritional deficiencies among youth. The proposals have already caused tensions within the commission, which must balance Trump loyalists’ priorities with Kennedy’s more unconventional views.

A significant portion of the report is devoted to dietary health, urging a national shift, particularly for children, away from ultraprocessed foods and toward whole foods. Kennedy called reducing reliance on heavily processed products “a top priority.” Despite this, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins insisted, “The food supply is 100 per cent safe,” pushing back against the report’s concerns about agricultural chemicals and additives.

Chemical exposure also features prominently in the report. While it stops short of recommending new regulations, it highlights concerns over widely used herbicides like glyphosate and cautions that any restrictions must consider farmers' operational realities. It argues that research into the health effects of such chemicals should come from the federal government and private innovation—not through what it called a “European-style regulatory system that stifles growth.”

The report calls for deeper investigation into corporate influence over public health science. It criticizes the role of pharmaceutical, food, chemical, and tech companies in funding research, claiming these interests distort evidence and contribute to the chronic disease burden.

It also warns about the overuse of medication among children, citing a dramatic rise in prescriptions for antidepressants, stimulants, and antibiotics over recent decades. Long-term safety data on these drugs remain limited, the report noted.

Vaccine policy also received particular scrutiny, with recommendations for expanded clinical trials and a reevaluation of school immunization mandates. Kennedy’s stance has drawn sharp criticism amid a national measles outbreak and his department’s recent restrictions on Covid-19 vaccine access.

The report surfaces at a time of significant cuts to public health infrastructure. The Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency has eliminated 20,000 health department jobs and shut down programs including the Environmental Public Health Tracking Programme. Still, the White House has requested $500 million for Kennedy’s initiative—while proposing an $18 billion cut to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which the report urges to lead large-scale studies on food additives and long-term health risks.

With around 80 days remaining to finalize a national strategy, the MAHA Commission is expected to deliver formal policy recommendations soon. Rollins said revised federal dietary guidelines would be released by fall, promising “sound, simple, and clear” nutrition advice.