As the Trump administration began taking shape after the 2024 election and the Senate considered public health leaders, the AAP recognized an urgent need to elevate pediatrician voices and ensure that the importance of childhood immunizations was front and center.
The Academy issued a statement immediately following then-President-elect Donald J. Trump’s nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
“The nomination … offers an important opportunity to share the settled science on vaccines with government leaders, policymakers and the American public,” the statement read. “This is a conversation pediatricians have every day with families, and we welcome the chance to do the same with national leaders.”
Over the following weeks, the Academy pursued a multifaceted advocacy campaign to elevate the importance of vaccinations as key committee hearings took place to consider Kennedy’s nomination. Those efforts included soliciting powerful vaccine stories from pediatricians across the country, mobilizing members to contact the Senate and amplifying these messages in the media.
Sharing experiences on importance of vaccines
By the time confirmation hearings began, the Academy had received nearly 200 testimonials from pediatricians on their experiences discussing immunizations with families and treating vaccine-preventable diseases. Dozens of these stories were shared with members of the Senate Committee on Finance and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions — the two committees holding hearings to consider Kennedy’s nomination. The testimonials later were shared with the full Senate and submitted into the congressional record, ensuring senators and the public will have long-term access to them.
As reported in AAP News in January, many stories touched on the tragic consequences of vaccine-preventable diseases infecting young, medically vulnerable infants. A common thread that ran through many of the stories was the urgency of protecting access to vaccines and ensuring that public health leaders operate from an evidence-based perspective.
These stories were shared across the AAP social media platforms. The posts were viewed, engaged with and shared widely. One Instagram post featuring a carousel of stories became the Academy’s most viewed social media post, garnering over 1.3 million views and 25,000 engagements.
The Academy also led an extensive grassroots advocacy push, mobilizing members to contact their senators. More than 4,400 emails were sent to Capitol Hill offices through the AAP Advocacy Action Center, in addition to phone calls and in-person visits to discuss the importance of vaccines. The AAP also conducted targeted outreach to pediatrician members represented by senators on the key committees as well as to AAP chapters, supporting them in connecting with key Senate offices to discuss the importance of vaccines.
Amplifying through the media
The Academy also worked to bring vaccines to the forefront of the news media conversation. In an Associated Press story published in late January, AAP President Susan J. Kressly, M.D., FAAP, called for policies “focused on getting rid of barriers to vaccination, not adding to them.” She also called vaccines “an American success story.”
AAP Immediate Past President Benjamin D. Hoffman, M.D., FAAP, also was quoted in a New York Times piece exploring the significance of the evidence-based childhood vaccine schedule.
“I have seen families who have unfortunately missed opportunities to get vaccines, and those vaccines then can’t do the job of protecting their kid,” Dr. Hoffman said.
Philadelphia pediatrician Katie Lockwood, M.D., M.Ed., FAAP, also spoke on behalf of the Academy with “CBS News” regarding vaccines. “I personally have cared for two children who unfortunately passed away from vaccine-preventable illnesses, and the loss of those children are pain and grief that I will carry with me for the rest of my life," Dr. Lockwood said.
AAP District I Vice Chairperson Susan J. Duffy, M.D., M.P.H., FAAP, wrote an op-ed published in Rhode Island’s Providence Journal highlighting the importance of public health leaders being champions of vaccine access.
“As a pediatric emergency physician with firsthand experience treating vaccine-preventable illnesses, I can think of no greater way to protect our children’s health in our state and across the country than making sure they have access to life-saving vaccines,” she wrote.
Stories like these helped shape a media narrative that put vaccines at the center of the conversation, with pediatricians serving as a leading voice.
Making a meaningful impact
During the committee hearings, senators, including the committee leaders, asked Kennedy about his views on vaccines and emphasized that vaccines have saved millions of lives. Kennedy’s nomination advanced out of committee and was approved by the U.S. Senate in a 52-48 vote.
“Vaccines are an American success story. Pediatricians across the country are dedicated to making sure that every child in every community can benefit from that success,” AAP President Susan J. Kressly, M.D., FAAP, said after the vote.
“Families and pediatricians heard clearly the numerous commitments Secretary Kennedy made to protect access to vaccines during his confirmation hearings. Policy impacts people. Children are depending on Secretary Kennedy to follow through, and pediatricians will continue to advocate for what children need to be healthy.”
Throughout this process, it was clear that the senators heard the messages on the importance of vaccinations, laying the foundation to continue to elevate the topic and ensure access to vaccines remains a priority for federal health agencies.
In a Senate floor speech on his decision to advance Kennedy’s nomination, Sen. Bill Cassidy, M.D., (R-La.), who chairs the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, remarked on the impact of pediatrician outreach and the messages they amplified on vaccinations.
“(Pediatricians) are aware of the falling vaccine rates and the inevitability of increasing hospitalizations and deaths of children from vaccine-preventable diseases,” Sen. Cassidy said. “They are aware that children are now contracting diseases that they would not have contracted if the children were vaccinated.”
The Academy will continue its robust work to emphasize the importance of access to vaccinations for the health of children, families and communities everywhere.
