RFK Jr.'s vaccine panel voted to delay childhood immunizations. Is it the right move? USA TODAY readers respond in our latest Opinion Forum.

"Make America Healthy Again" is a polarizing slogan, to say the least, but never more than when babies are at the center of the movement's attention. We asked, and you answered passionately, about whether the MAHA agenda is right for America's kids.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been making good on his promises to challenge long-held vaccine norms and policies in recent weeks, with his latest sights set on childhood vaccine rollouts.

His handpicked vaccine advisory panel is debating a possible delay to the recommended immunization schedule, which calls for routine vaccines at set intervals for newborns and young children. Everything is seemingly up for grabs, from COVID-19 vaccines to hepatitis B vaccine schedules.

On Dec. 5, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended "individual-based decision making" for parents of babies born to mothers who test negative for hepatitis B. For parents who decline the birth dose, the panel recommended the first shot be delayed to "no earlier than two months of age."

And you had thoughts. You can read a collection of these responses below, or send in your own to us at forum@usatoday.com.

As someone with autism, RFK Jr.'s obsession with 'fixing' us disgusts me

As someone with autism and as a parent of a child with autism, I know that it is genetic. No amount of vaccines or Tylenol or any other ludicrous theory from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will change the science. Changing the childhood vaccine schedule, however, could put millions of children at unnecessary risk for preventable diseases.

Changing the schedule will only cause confusion, and limiting vaccines will only cause more preventable diseases. Vaccine fears, especially around autism, are founded in prejudice and ignorance.

Autism is not a disease, it is not a tragedy – it is a neurological difference that requires acceptance, not a cure. Furthermore, the symptoms of autism are so complex and so variable that it is frankly idiotic to assume simply taking more vitamins and preventing Tylenol use will somehow “fix” it.

Vaccines and their predecessors, inoculations, have been around for years. Rates of preventable diseases have subsequently plummeted since their use became widespread. The science and its data do not lie.

Kennedy is a prejudiced liar. I would not trust him to apply a Band-Aid correctly, much less take his advice on medical matters. His stance on autism is eugenics disguised as concern. In short, he disgusts me.

— Caitlin Penny, Kansas

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a breath of fresh air

My children have received some, but not all, vaccines during childhood at my discretion.

I believe there are acknowledged experts advocating both sides of most of the intricate parts of an overall vaccine program, however that is defined. There is undoubtedly institutional bias, as there is with any entrenched system defending its monetary and professional stance. This neither makes it right nor wrong, but still biased and clinging to confirmation bias.

I worked for one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies, and like the aforementioned institutional bias, it was rampant within the castle-keep of Big Pharma. We were told to go off-label if that generated more sales. I suspect that things have not changed for the better.

I saw firsthand how the system is rigged to get approval, grant money and desired results from less-than-objective research.

RFK Jr. is a breath of fresh air, regardless of whether he’s correct on every position. The status quo is rotten inside and outside Washington.

— Robert Jarrard, Massachusetts

Why would we want children to suffer from preventable diseases?

I believe our national health institutes are managed by complete incompetents. Look at the higher incidences of whooping cough and measles because of changes in the wind.

I grew up when polio was a real concern. I remember when the first vaccines were made available. My mother, along with hundreds of other mothers, stood with us children for hours outside the local elementary school so we could receive those first shots. Too many people knew or were related to others who were tethered to iron lungs.

The sickest I ever was as a child was when I contracted German measles in 1956. The measles led to pneumonia ... it was touch and go. As soon as my own children were old enough to get that MMR vaccine, I made sure they got it. I was grateful they would not have to suffer the way I did.

Kennedy's own family disavows him, and I believe his incompetence threatens the health of the entire nation. He got his job because he helped President Donald Trump get reelected and not for anything resembling expertise.

— Susan Overbey, Massachusetts

I trust the vaccines because I trust science

This committee should be guided by science and research. What does the science say about this vaccine and its effectiveness? What will happen to our children without the vaccine and its early use? What is the science behind the delay? Until science and pediatricians call for change, we should not change the practice.

So far, this nation has been driven by science in these cases. Is there a scientific and medical reason behind the schedule? Is it proven to be effective? Why the changes now? We have eliminated many childhood diseases with vaccines. And we have accomplished this around the world.

I trust the vaccines. I think they should be properly researched. Everyone needs to know the side effects for themselves and their children. And they need to study the recommendations of doctors and decide. But these vaccines protect us, and they protect our children.

I received the early polio vaccine. I have received many of the recommended vaccines. I receive the flu shot and others each year based on the fact that I taught for 43 years and wanted protection from all the typhoid Marys in class. I have received pneumonia and shingles vaccines. I study the science and recommendations, and those of my doctor.

RFK Jr. is no medical doctor. His recommendations should not be followed. He is into survival of the fittest. He seems to be a part of the Trump wing that supports eugenics. It is a part of necropolitics. He is not to be trusted. We still have to do our own due diligence and decide. But Kennedy is a part of the most incompetent presidential Cabinet in American history. We should be mindful of this.

— Rick Jones, Ohio

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: RFK Jr.'s vaccine obsession will harm countless kids | Your Turn

Reporting by Opinion Forum, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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