American Academy of Pediatrics loses government funding after criticizing RFK Jr

The US department of health and human services (HHS) has terminated several multi-million-dollar grants to the American Academy of Pediatrics following the association’s criticisms of health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr’s policies.

The funding cuts, which affect projects focused on issues including fetal alcohol spectrum disorders and early identification of autism, were first reported by the Washington Post and made without prior notice to the AAP.

In a statement to the Guardian, AAP CEO, Mark Del Monte, said: “AAP learned this week that seven grants to AAP under the US Department of Health and Human Services are being terminated.

“This vital work spanned multiple child health priorities, including reducing sudden infant death, rural access to health care, mental health, adolescent health, supporting children with birth defects, early identification of autism, and prevention of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, among other topics.”

Del Monte added: “The sudden withdrawal of these funds will directly impact and potentially harm infants, children, youth, and their families in communities across the United States. AAP is exploring all available options, including legal recourse, in response to these actions.”

HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon told the Washington Post that the grants were terminated because they no longer align with departmental priorities. The Guardian has contacted HHS for comment.

HHS terminated the funding after noting that the AAP’s materials used what the department characterized as “identity-based language”, including references to racial disparities and the term “pregnant people”, according to administration officials cited by the Washington Post.

One letter terminating a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on birth defects and infant disorders pointed to language in grant materials that are “not aligned with current CDC and HHS priorities”, the paper reported.

“These elements are not incidental; they are woven through the title, narrative and work plans of your organization’s award project and define your organization’s project’s objective framework,” Jamie Legier, director of CDC’s office of grants services, reportedly wrote in the letter.

“As such, your organization’s activities under [award number] are no longer in alignment with the stated HHS and CDC priority areas.”

Earlier this year, Kennedy criticized the AAP for issuing its own Covid-19 vaccine recommendations which diverged from federal guidance he had set. Kennedy announced that the Covid-19 vaccine would no longer be included in the CDC’s recommended immunizations for healthy children and pregnant women, breaking with longstanding medical guidance.

In response, AAP president, Susan J Kressly, said in June: “We won’t lend our name or our expertise to a system that is being politicized at the expense of children’s health.”

Following AAP’s release of its own vaccine recommendations, Kennedy on Twitter/X questioned whether AAP’s recommendations “reflect public health interest, or are, perhaps, just a pay-to-play scheme to promote commercial ambitions of AAP’s Big Pharma benefactors”.

The AAP, along with other major medical associations, have since filed a lawsuit against HHS to challenge Kennedy’s vaccine changes.

In an amicus brief filed by Defend Public Health – a network of health workers and researchers – in support of the lawsuit, the group also criticized Kennedy’s changes to Covid-19 vaccine policies.

DPH argued that the decision would have far-reaching consequences, stating: “First, this downgrade immediately introduced significant uncertainty and complexity to the process of administering COVID-19 vaccines in pharmacy settings … Second, pregnant patients and children – populations at heightened risk from many infectious diseases – are most affected by these disruptions … Third, reduced vaccination coverage burdens hospitals and the health-care workforce.”