Health Dept. Cancels Grants to Group That Criticized Kennedy's Vaccine Policies

The Department of Health and Human Services has canceled seven federal grants that supported programs aimed at reducing sudden infant deaths, prenatal substance exposure, birth defects and adolescent mental health problems, after the grants' recipient repeatedly criticized federal vaccine policy.

The grants had been awarded to the American Academy of Pediatrics, a professional association that has been a fierce critic of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The academy took issue with Mr. Kennedy's efforts to fire the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for disagreements over vaccine policies and his decision to dismiss all 17 members of an influential advisory panel on immunization to overhaul the U.S. vaccination policy. Mr. Kennedy later installed members who shared his vaccine skepticism.