Preparing to welcome a new baby is one of the most joyful and exciting seasons in a family’s life, and as an OB-GYN, it’s an honor to walk alongside families during this time—answering questions about everything from safe sleep setups to whether that sudden craving is normal. Even if vaccines aren’t the first thing on everyone’s mind, they remain one of the most important tools we have to keep patients and families healthy.
Until recently, parents could easily find clear, evidence-based information from trusted sources like the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Since RFK Jr.’s confirmation as HHS secretary, though, many expecting parents now question the accuracy and integrity of the medical information coming from our nation’s top health agency.
I always tell my patients the same simple truth: vaccines are one of the most effective tools we have to protect children. The CDC estimates that routine childhood vaccination for kids born between 1994 and 2023 prevented more than 508 million illnesses and saved over 1.1 million lives. Those are real children, real families, and real lives changed.
And vaccines are safe. Every vaccine recommended for children goes through clinical trials, extensive peer-reviewed research, and ongoing safety monitoring. These systems exist to protect the public, and they work.
But parents today are already drowning in information—some good, some questionable, some harmful. What they should be hearing is clear, science-based reassurance from our federal health leaders. Instead, they’re watching the HHS secretary cast doubt on the very tools that have kept kids healthy for generations. I understand why 57 percent of Americans now say they don’t trust medical information referenced by the secretary. As a physician, I find that deeply concerning.
Before joining the administration, RFK Jr. spent years promoting dangerous and disproven claims about vaccine safety. Now, from a position of enormous influence, he’s making sweeping, unvetted changes to our national vaccine program—without the scientific review process that has safeguarded public health for decades. For new and expecting parents trying to make the best choices for their children, this has created confusion where clarity is desperately needed.
Then, in January 2026, he cut by one-third the number of diseases HHS recommends American children be vaccinated against. This is not a minor tweak. It’s a dramatic overhaul of the childhood immunization schedule—one that leaves parents with more questions, fewer protections, and a higher risk of preventable outbreaks. Fewer recommended vaccines will mean fewer children protected. And that puts all children at greater risk.
North Carolinians deserve leaders who will cut through this chaos and stand firmly behind clear, evidence-based public health guidance. At a moment when misinformation is spreading and families are looking for guidance, too many of our elected officials in Washington have failed to speak up.
North Carolina families deserve leaders who will put aside partisanship, push back against misinformation—no matter where it comes from—and make sure every parent has the tools and trustworthy information they need to protect their children.
Jenna Beckham, MD, MSPH, FACOG, is a practicing OB/GYN physician in Wake County
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