Chair of the Massachusetts Democratic Party Steve Kerrigan is calling on the three Republican gubernatorial candidates to denounce a move by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to end a longtime recommendation to provide newborns with the hepatitis B vaccine.
The 8-3 vote by the HHS Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) was backed by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his push to rollback vaccine requirements, along with a goal of finding a potential link between childhood vaccines and autism. The CDC has recommended the hepatitis B vaccine at birth for over 30 years.
“This is the latest move by a health department that is being run by a very dangerous and deeply unqualified man in RFK Jr. The silence from Brian Shortsleeve, Mike Kennealy, and Mike Minogue is deafening. While RFK Jr puts the lives of newborn babies at risk, they are refusing to speak out and instead tripping over themselves to earn the favor of MAGA in a race to the bottom to become the Massachusetts’ GOP nominee for governor,” Kerrigan said in a written statement, before turning his sights on GOP megadonor Mike Minogue and even partly blaming him for the federal vaccine decision.
“For Minogue, who has helped fund the MAGA movement to the tune of millions, his silence is especially dangerous — his donations helped make this happen,” Kerrigan said.
But all three candidates are hitting back, with Minogue calling it “party politics” before advocating for trust in parent-physician relationships over medical advice from “the political establishment.”
“This is party politics. The politicians know nothing about the science or process and interfere with the parent-physician relationship. I trust my pediatrician to recommend what is best for my family, not someone from the political establishment that has no expertise. That’s why I called her! Unlike the Governor, in my time at Abiomed, I’ve worked with the FDA extensively to get over a dozen approvals and clearances,” Minogue told the Herald. “I know the importance of listening to physician experts in the field. A true leader listens to experts and listens to families instead of grand standing.”
Campaign Strategist for Brian Shortsleeve’s campaign, Holly Robichaud, also responded to Kerrigan, telling the Herald that voters should be more concerned with the dangers posed by the current governor.
“As a father to three boys, Brian Shortsleeve supports the standard childhood vaccine schedule and believes anyone who wants a vaccine should be able to get one,” Robichaud said. “What Massachusetts voters should be more concerned about is the public health crisis being created by Maura Healey, who enables addicts who litter our parks and playgrounds with her free, taxpayer-funded needles, is releasing hardened criminals onto our streets to murder our people because she refuses to address the lack of public defenders, and who continues to cover up the full extent of the sex crimes committed against women and children in the her taxpayer-funded migrant shelter system.”
As for Mike Kennealy, he says he supports scientifically proven childhood vaccinations while also looking back to the vaccine issue during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I support safe, effective, and scientifically proven childhood vaccinations. However, no one in this Commonwealth should be denied employment or educational opportunities simply because they choose not to take a new, experimental vaccine — as we saw during COVID,” Kennealy said.
The move has drawn negative reactions from multiple states, including Massachusetts and Governor Maura Healey, who says the state will not comply with the HHS shift in vaccine policy and will continue recommending the shot to newborns.
“I want the people of Massachusetts to know that your state Department of Public Health — led by an actual doctor and guided by science and data — continues to recommend that newborns receive the hepatitis B vaccine. We are going to continue to work with other states to ensure that all of our residents can receive the vaccines they need and want to keep them and their children healthy,” Healey said in a statement reacting to the Friday vote.
The ACIP vote was further backed by President Donald Trump, who Friday night ordered Kennedy and other top health officials to conduct a review of all U.S. childhood vaccinations and align them with that of other developed countries.
“Today, the CDC Vaccine Committee made a very good decision to END their Hepatitis B Vaccine Recommendation for babies, the vast majority of whom are at NO RISK of Hepatitis B, a disease that is mostly transmitted sexually, or through dirty needles. The American Childhood Vaccine Schedule long required 72 “jabs,” for perfectly healthy babies, far more than any other Country in the World, and far more than is necessary. In fact, it is ridiculous! Many parents and scientists have been questioning the efficacy of this “schedule,” as have I,” Trump said Friday night in a lengthy post to Truth Social.
“That is why I have just signed a Presidential Memorandum directing the Department of Health and Human Services to “FAST TRACK” a comprehensive evaluation of Vaccine Schedules from other Countries around the World, and better align the U.S. Vaccine Schedule, so it is finally rooted in the Gold Standard of Science and COMMON SENSE,” he said.
Kerrigan went on to call for the three candidates to publicly state where they stand on healthcare and vaccine issues.
“They will need to answer where they stand on healthcare, access to vaccines, and keeping our children safe. Failure to grow a spine and stand on the side of public health and science is just another reason why all of these men are not prepared to lead the Commonwealth,” he said. “The people of Massachusetts want a Governor who will stand up to Donald Trump, RFK Jr, and their dangerous policies. Governor Healey has prioritized keeping our kids safe and making healthcare accessible and affordable. That’s why Massachusetts will re-elect Governor Maura Healey next November.”
Minogue, Kennealy and Shortsleeve face off in the Republican primary in September.
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