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Idaho Matters Doctor Roundtable: September 23, 2026

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during a news conference at the Hubert Humphrey Building Auditorium in Washington, Tuesday, April 22, 2025.
Jose Luis Magana
/
AP
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during a news conference at the Hubert Humphrey Building Auditorium in Washington, Tuesday, April 22, 2025.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has spent much of his first year and a half as the nation’s Health and Human Services Secretary reshaping the way the federal government approaches vaccines.

Last week he returned to a group he once led, Children’s Health Defense, to deliver the keynote address at its annual conference.

Kennedy told the crowd they have a “strong and steadfast friend” in the Trump White House, and pointed to changes the administration has pursued around the childhood vaccine schedule and the way federal vaccine recommendations are made.

All of this is happening as the country is dealing with its worst year for measles in decades.

Dr. David Pate, the former CEO of St. Luke's Health System and the author of the book "Preparing for the Next Global Outbreak," joined Idaho Matters to talk more about the health news making headlines.

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