RFK Jr. drags feet on COVID-19 vaccine recommendations, delaying shots for kids

Steve austin

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That seeming violation of the Hatch Act is on almost every front-facing .gov page.
It varies from agency to agency. Treasury is as bad as USDA, but some blame the Dems without that level of vitriol, and some indicate a closure without mentioning the Dems at all (surprisingly including DHS and Defense - sorry, War). Some, like Energy, don’t even indicate closure.
 
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FSTargetDrone

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Has anyone been to USDA.gov today? This is all getting out of control.
HHS, CDC and any other department in the US on the federal level that is responsible for healthcare should be considered totally unreliable. I’m looking for recommendations from my non-insane state heath department, Canada, Western Europe, and other places like that.
 
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Just heard about that. That's a wildly blatant Hatch Act violation.

Of course, who's going to prosecute anyone over it?

In case the site changes back, here's what it says:

One of the more disturbing implications of much of what Trump and his administration are doing is that what they're doing are things which, should they find themselves out of power, they can be tried and sued into the next millennium over.
I'm personally hoping it's just general ineptitude and not indicative of a plan to by hook or crook abolish or render elections meaningless.

And of course the Democrats are out talking about how they're fighting to save healthcare largely without countering the lie that they're trying to provide healthcare to immigrants who are in the country illegally or even just clearly calling out Republicans for causing the shutdown.

It's just surreal that some random internet commenter like me seems to understand why their messaging continuously falls flat better than most elected Democratic politicians. (A few like Bernie and AOC aside — they get it.)

The reason democrat messaging is so utterly shit today is that as the Overton window of the US moved sharply to the right "normal" republican politics ended up sliding into the democrat center and right. Eisenhower? By his politics he'd be a democrat centrist today, as would Goldwater. Dog damn Reagan would be a right-wing democrat judging by his politics.
Meanwhile Bernie Sanders and AOC, at the dead left end of the democrat party, are objectively speaking middle-of-the-road FDR-style social democrats. Not leftists.

But that's part of the issue right there. The democrats can't unite behind what to get for lunch. Their messaging and platform becomes the most milquetoast possible as it has to pass the concensus approval of a tent so wide it encompasses everyone not stark staring mad or fascist.

This dilutes both platform and message. "Not Trump" and a strongly worded note is the only thing they can all get behind.

Secondly, courtesy of Citizen's United, almost no american politician can get into the halls of power without promising to screw the US voters in some way on behalf of their campaign contributors. A US politician is bought and sold.

And that dilutes both the platform and message further. They can't shit in the dinner of their paymasters, after all, if they want to retain a career.

"Not Trump" is still an extremely valid reason to vote for them, however, because when one choice is Fascism, anything else with a chance to win is the one you must vote for.
Fixing what is broken in your own house must come after you've run off the nazis.
 
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flerchin

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Has anyone been to USDA.gov today? This is all getting out of control.
Screenshot 2025-10-03 at 12.25.53 PM.png


I like the "feed, fuel, and clothe" part, like the "American people" are some kind of mix of livestock or agricultural machinery with no actual agency.

As a Canadian, I can chuckle and be sardonic about it, but honestly, this message horrifies me because you guys have shown us how quickly things can go from stability to complete insanity.
 
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Poor baby killer? I really have the impression he is spreading his nonsense to thin out the herd with a focus on the vulnerable ones. Poor people, ignorant ones... If it is, he deserves a special place in hell.
Sounds like he's secured one. I just don't think you've realized yet where you are.
 
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jtwrenn

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There was a show about brain worms taking over politicians. Good concept but it didn't quite seem to work. I think it was called Brain Dead. It might hit differently now.
We are in full Futurama brain slug territory right now. Haven't hit fully hypnotoad yet but I hear Meta is working on some glasses.
 
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dagar9

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Is there any place in the US that has the 2025/26 COVID vaccines available for kids yet?

in NYC neither pharmacies not pediatricians appear to have them available.

Minnesota though 2-18 is for high-risk kids or with parent's consent. (High risk is based on your say-so.) The pharmacy chains appear to have it in stock, dunno if they have age restrictions. Wouldn't think so, since the Department of Health recommends vax.
 
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SixDegrees

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Minnesota though 2-18 is for high-risk kids or with parent's consent. (High risk is based on your say-so.) The pharmacy chains appear to have it in stock, dunno if they have age restrictions. Wouldn't think so, since the Department of Health recommends vax.
Michigan's health department issued a finding that anyone who doesn't have covid vaccination up to date is inherently at risk, so that box gets ticked automatically in that state, making everyone immediately eligible.
 
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My wife tried to schedule an appointment for my 9 year old at CVS and was told explicitly that they will not vaccinate children. The only way to get our child vaccinated for Covid, in Silicon Valley, appears to be a doctor's appointment.

That's fucking insane.
You should be able to self-attest "high risk" status for children or adults in CA per CDPH. Schedule online, check the "high risk" category (asthma, diabetes, CF, or IgA deficiency if they ask). Pharmacists/techs often quote chain policy as "the law."
I just scheduled COVID vax appointment for a 7 year old boy at a CVS in Sunnyvale. Wide open availability. Check the "Yes" box when asked if you qualify.
 
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There are plenty of developped countries that won't even allow kids to get these vaccines.

You guys need to stop with the reactionary behavior and judge each move on its merir.
Not really. Most countries, it's just a matter of whether national health insurance pays for it. They do cost:benefit analyses. Nothing to do with "won't allow."
 
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MedicalGeek

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Just heard about that. That's a wildly blatant Hatch Act violation.

Of course, who's going to prosecute anyone over it?

Meanwhile the guidance where I work through 4 administrations so far is that any words or action in public that would reasonably allow an observer to guess one’s party affiliation or preferred candidate is not to be done. Not just during work but not at all. It’s felt that it reflects negatively on the organization, people who work here should not have any partisan affiliations at all.
 
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SixDegrees

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No, it's the head of USDA. Not all .gov sites have this BS. It's apparently up to the cabinet/dept heads.
Noted earlier, it's definitely got the head of the FDA's approval. In fact, it may have been instigated by Brooke Rollins, who is a long-time magat and dedicated uber-Trumper. Stuff like this pours out of her mouth, unbidden, on a regular basis. She's a seething, pus-filled boil of hate.
 
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