When Robert F. Kennedy Jr. launched his insurgent presidential bid earlier this spring, it confirmed what many Biden officials had feared: The anti-vaccine movement, long relegated to the fringes of society, was on the rise. Yes, anti-vaccine sentiment had long existed, notably in pockets of New York and the Pacific Northwest, but Kennedy’s name and candidacy was about to give it significant oxygen. Worse, the Biden administration had to confront the uncomfortable truth that it has no clear sense of how to combat it, POLITICO’s Adam Cancryn reports. “There’s a real challenge here,” said one senior official who’s worked on the Covid response, and was granted anonymity to speak candidly. “But they keep just hoping it’ll go away.” The increasing appeal of anti-vaccine activism underscored by Kennedy’s campaign and fueled by prominent factions of the GOP has horrified federal health officials, who blame it for seeding dangerous conspiracy theories and bolstering a Covid-era backlash to broader public health practices. But as President Joe Biden ramps up a reelection campaign centered on his vision for a post-pandemic America, there’s little interest among his aides in courting a high-profile vaccine fight — and even less of an idea of how to win. Biden officials have felt handcuffed for the past two years by a Republican lawsuit over the administration’s initial attempt to clamp down on anti-vaxxers, who claimed the White House violated the First Amendment when it encouraged social media companies to crack down on anti-vaccine posts. That suit, the officials believe, has limited their ability to police disinformation online. Congress is also clawing back Covid funds once earmarked for vaccine education and outreach. And Biden has largely ignored Kennedy’s campaign, concluding there’s no political benefit to engaging. The consequences: As another Covid vaccination bid begins, fewer Americans than ever are up to date on their shots, especially children. Recent polling shows Republicans now are twice as likely to say childhood shots should be optional than they did in 2019. “We can see a long-term future where kids aren’t going to get vaccinated in schools, diseases that we once thought had ended will roar back and kids will get sick and die from 100 percent preventable conditions,” said Lawrence Gostin, a Georgetown University public health professor who has advised the White House. “This will cost lives in the long term.” The White House and Department of Health and Human Services declined to comment on the record. But in a statement, an HHS spokesperson said the administration knows “how important it is for people to have accurate, science-based information to protect themselves and their loved ones.” HHS also outlined a range of activities aimed at reinforcing that vaccines are safe and effective, and promoting factual information — including monitoring social media for misinformation, working with local health officials to identify and correct misconceptions, and publicizing its own online resources to address common questions and concerns. WELCOME TO WEDNESDAY PULSE. The Congressional Pickleball Caucus welcomed professionals to the Dirksen Senate Office Building Tuesday. We’d like to play pickleball at work, too. Reach us at bleonard@politico.com or ccirruzzo@politico.com. Follow along @_BenLeonard_ and @ChelseaCirruzzo. TODAY ON OUR PULSE CHECK PODCAST , host Lauren Gardner talks with POLITICO health care reporter Erin Schumaker about YouTube’s plans to become an authority on medical information.
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