In this episode, Jamie and Melissa Anne tackle the fourth major claim in the MAHA Commission’s MOCHA report: that American pediatric care is overmedicalized, with too many vaccines. While the original plan was to explore the broader claim about overuse of medications and mental health care, the complexity of vaccine misinformation—especially from RFK Jr.—warranted a dedicated episode.

The hosts break down the MOCHA report’s critique of the U.S. childhood vaccine schedule, which calls for more clinical trials using true placebos, larger sample sizes, and longer follow-up periods. It also suggests the U.S. gives more vaccines than necessary, especially compared to European countries, echoing nostalgia-driven arguments like “it wasn’t like this when I was a kid.”

They highlight RFK Jr.’s controversial decision to fire all 17 members of the CDC’s ACIP and replace them with individuals lacking vaccine or infectious disease expertise—many with ties to anti-vaccine activism—as a deeply troubling move.

Jamie and Melissa Anne firmly assert that vaccines are safe, effective, and thoroughly tested, with ongoing surveillance through systems like VAERS and VSD. They acknowledge that public health communication missteps, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the dismissive labeling of concerned patients as “anti-vax” may have worsened vaccine hesitancy.

The episode ends with a strong rejection of the MAHA report’s insinuations that vaccines are linked to chronic illnesses like autism or autoimmune conditions—claims soundly disproven by decades of global research.

Full show notes and suggested reading can be found on our Substack.