• by Tanya Gazdik , February 23, 2025

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is halting promotions it developed for a variety of vaccines.

“The Department of Health and Human Services’ assistant secretary for public affairs informed the CDC that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wanted advertisements that promote the idea of ‘informed consent’ in vaccine decision-making instead,” according to Boston Globe Media’s Stat. “Informed consent is the principle that people should be notified of all the risks, as well as benefits, of any medical intervention they receive or any drug they are prescribed. It is a cornerstone of health care delivery.”

One effort that was shelved include a “Wild to Mild” campaign that juxtaposed images of wild animals, such as a lion, with cute counterparts, like a kitten, as an analogy for how immunization can help tame the flu.

“The campaign aimed to communicate that flu vaccination can lessen symptoms and the chance of getting severely ill, even if it doesn't prevent someone from catching the flu,” according to NPR. “The Trump administration's decision to pull the campaign comes in the midst of a brutal flu season that's still raging.”

Flu cases are the highest they have been in the last decade, with at least 33 million flu illnesses this season, 430,000 hospitalizations and 19,000 deaths, according to the CDC.

“The message also remains indispensable given the current Texas measles outbreak, with 58 reported cases,” according to Forbes. “Although the majority of cases have been reported in those unvaccinated, at least four individuals claim that they have received the measles vaccine. The flu vaccination campaign would help educate people on a common question- why are people who are vaccinated getting measles?”

Paid media for the ad campaign was ending on Wednesday, according to one of the current CDC staff members who spoke to NPR.

It was the CDC’s second annual “Wild to Mild”-themed installment of its decades-long flu vaccination campaign.

“Other new aspects of the Weber Shandwick campaign include a partnership with pregnancy tracking app Glow, part of the CDC’s specific targeting of flu shots to pregnant women,” according to Marketing Daily. “Additional partners in the flu vaccination campaign include healthcare providers. For use on social media and elsewhere, CDC provides the HCPs with both branded and unbranded assets.”

The decision is an early sign of how RFK Jr. may shift the U.S. approach to vaccinations as the nation’s top health official, according to Boston Globe Media’s Stat.  The CDC’s vaccine advisory committee has postponed a meeting scheduled for this coming week.

Politico reported that RFK Jr. may remove some members of that committee and other influential public health bodies, claiming they have conflicts of interest.

Terminating the campaign also comes at a time when thousands of probationary workers in the most influential federal health care sectors have been laid off, including personnel at the HHS, NIH and CDC.

“Public health experts are critical in protecting and safeguarding health for Americans and individuals all around the world,” according to Forbes. “These workers have been instrumental in carrying out groundbreaking research that have helped discover cures and vaccines. They have been indispensable in containing deadly infectious diseases, in developing key tests that help us identify various diseases and help communicate important public health information so all of us can stay safe and healthy.”