State legislators and medical experts in Ohio are decrying the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

There were significant disruptions to childhood vaccine uptake during the COVID pandemic along with vaccine-related misinformation and disinformation, making some concerned that vaccine hesitancy toward childhood vaccines increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, a new study “The COVID-19 Pandemic and Parental Attitudes Toward Routine Childhood Vaccines,” in the November 2023 Pediatrics, found that overall hesitancy for childhood vaccines did not increase.

Vaccine mandates do play a significant role in boosting vaccination rates. This was particularly true during the 2020-2021 influenza season according to the study “Vaccine Mandates and Influenza Vaccination During the Pandemic.”