Who’s Protecting Public Health? The Answer Should Worry You

Vaccine skeptics and political operatives now run America’s health agencies. What happens when the next outbreak hits?

The Next Pandemic Might Already Be Here

Bird flu isn’t new, but what is new is how it’s spreading. The H5N1 virus, once confined to birds, is now infecting mammals, dairy cattle, and humans at increasing rates. Since 2003, nearly 1,000 human cases have been reported worldwide, with a fatality rate of around 50%. In the U.S., at least 70 people have been infected since 2024, yet public awareness remains low.

Instead of bolstering pandemic preparedness, the agencies responsible for protecting public health are now run by vaccine skeptics, deregulation advocates, and political operatives with little to no scientific expertise. The CDC and NIH are under leadership that has questioned vaccine safety and pushed for herd immunity, while the FDA is prioritizing faster drug approvals over stringent safety checks.

We’re already seeing the effects. Measles, once nearly eradicated in the U.S., is spreading again as vaccination rates decline. If H5N1 mutates to spread efficiently between humans, the U.S. could face another public health crisis with a fractured response.

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Who’s in Charge? A Breakdown of America’s New Public Health Leaders

For decades, public health agencies were led by experts in medicine, epidemiology, and regulatory science. Today, many of those positions have been filled by political appointees with questionable qualifications, industry ties, or outright hostility toward vaccines and public health measures.

Instead of scientists, epidemiologists, and regulatory experts, public health leadership is now dominated by individuals with political loyalties, corporate ties, or outright hostility toward public health interventions.

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How This Leadership Increases the Risk of Disease Outbreaks

These appointments aren’t just bureaucratic decisions—they fundamentally alter how America will respond to public health threats.

Vaccine Skepticism Will Lead to Preventable Disease Resurgence

• RFK Jr. halted vaccine advisory meetings and has long spread misinformation about vaccine safety.

• Dr. Dave Weldon, the CDC nominee, has supported discredited vaccine-autism theories.

• Measles outbreaks are growing, and childhood vaccination rates have dropped below the 95% herd immunity threshold in multiple states.

Public health messaging will likely weaken, leading to more parents opting out of vaccinations. Expect more outbreaks of measles, polio, and whooping cough—nearly eradicated diseases.

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A Slow & Disorganized Response to Emerging Disease Threats

• H5N1 avian flu has jumped to mammals and continues to mutate.

• USDA’s team responsible for monitoring animal-to-human transmission was gutted in recent mass layoffs related in part to DOGE.

• The Office of Pandemic Preparedness (OPPR), created after COVID-19, is facing funding cuts and may be dismantled.

If H5N1 mutates into a form that spreads easily between humans, the U.S. may not have the infrastructure to contain it quickly, as it did in the early days of COVID-19.

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Deregulation Will Undermine Food & Drug Safety

• An industry lawyer now runs the FDA’s human foods division with no public health experience.

• Brooke Rollins at USDA focuses more on immigration crackdowns than food safety oversight.

• Marty Makary, the FDA nominee, supports accelerating drug approvals with fewer safety regulations.

Expect more contaminated food, less oversight of outbreaks in livestock, and riskier drugs entering the market faster.

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A Leadership Team at War with Itself? Conflicting Agendas Could Worsen Public Health Crises

While most of the new public health leaders lean toward deregulation, vaccine skepticism, or industry-friendly policies, their approaches aren't always aligned. Some push for faster vaccine and drug approvals, while others question vaccine safety entirely.

🔹 Example 1: RFK Jr. vs. Marty Makary on Vaccines

• RFK Jr. opposes most vaccines and halted vaccine advisory meetings indefinitely.

• Makary wants faster vaccine approvals and medical innovation.

• If H5N1 or another contagion requires a rapid vaccine rollout, these conflicting approaches could slow development and public acceptance.

🔹 Example 2: Brooke Rollins vs. RFK Jr. on Food Safety

• USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins is cutting regulations, including food safety oversight.

• RFK Jr. supports stronger food labeling and consumer transparency.

• However, many of RFK Jr.'s political allies oppose government intervention in food safety, making it unclear whether his consumer protection efforts will translate into fundamental policy changes.

• Possible Outcome: Rollins’ push for deregulation could increase the risk of foodborne illness outbreaks, while RFK Jr.’s labeling efforts may stall due to resistance from his ideological allies in Congress. The result? A public health risk with little accountability.

The COVID-19 pandemic has already eroded trust in public health, and this leadership will likely worsen it.

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Public Health Shouldn’t Be Political—But Now It Is

In a functioning government, public health leaders are chosen based on expertise, not ideology. Their job is to prevent outbreaks, protect food and drug safety, and guide the country through health crises with clear, science-driven policies.

But that’s not what’s happening now.

Under this administration, public health is no longer about protecting people but serving political and corporate interests.

• Vaccine skeptics are now in charge of vaccine policy.

• Pro-deregulation officials are overseeing food and drug safety.

• Mass firings and funding cuts have gutted pandemic preparedness and disease monitoring.

The result? A country more vulnerable to preventable disease outbreaks, unsafe food and medication, and a chaotic response to future health threats.

We’ve already seen how politicizing public health costs lives. COVID-19 showed us what happens when science is undermined and public trust collapses. Now, we’re seeing that play out again with falling childhood vaccination rates, a resurging measles crisis, and a growing risk of H5N1 evolving into the next pandemic.

If this leadership stays unchecked, it won’t be a question of if a public health disaster happens, but when—and whether the country will even be able to respond when it does.

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What Can You Do? Stay Informed & Demand Accountability

Follow Experts Who Are Committed to Science, Not Politics

• Subscribe to public health experts on Substack (like Your Local Epidemiologist and Trust the Evidence).

• Follow independent epidemiologists and journalists who report on outbreaks and policy failures.

Hold Leaders Accountable

• Demand transparency from public health agencies and watch for regulatory rollbacks and disease surveillance failures.

• Push for science-based policies, not ideology-driven health decisions.

Public health should be about saving lives—not political agendas, industry profits, or culture wars.

If we don’t speak up, stay informed, and push back against harmful policies, the consequences won’t just be bad headlines. There’ll be more outbreaks, more preventable deaths, and a public health system in permanent decline.

Related Reporting:

Bibliography:

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). "Past Reported Global Human Cases with Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Viruses."

• World Health Organization (WHO). "Human infection with avian influenza A(H5) viruses."

• The Guardian. "Tracking Trump cabinet confirmations - so far."

• The Guardian. "Two people in US hospitalized with bird flu, CDC reports."

• Vanity Fair. "America's Food Safety Is Now in the Hands of Don Jr.'s Hunting Buddy."

• Vox. "What RFK Jr. has said about the ongoing measles outbreak.”

• Financial Times. "The political rise of the anti-vax movement."

• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). "Leadership | HHS.gov."

• U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). "U.S. Department of Agriculture Announces Key Slate of Presidential Appointments."

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). "First H5 Bird Flu Death Reported in United States | CDC Newsroom."

• Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. "Bird Flu Is Raising Red Flags Among Health Officials."

• National Institutes of Health (NIH). "NIH officials assess threat of H5N1."

• Louisiana Department of Health. "LDH reports first U.S. H5N1-related human death."

• Wired. "The US Has Bird Flu Vaccines. Here's Why You Can't Get One." Published: last month.