{"id":2518292,"date":"2025-12-06T13:08:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-06T18:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hhs-pritzker-eroded-public-trust-in-public-health\/"},"modified":"2025-12-06T13:11:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-06T18:11:07","slug":"hhs-pritzker-eroded-public-trust-in-public-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hhs-pritzker-eroded-public-trust-in-public-health\/","title":{"rendered":"HHS: Pritzker &#8216;eroded public trust&#8217; in public health"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhhs-pritzker-eroded-public-trust-in-public-health%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2518292&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Teh U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) criticized Illinois Governor JB Pritzker for &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/boring-jan-6-committee-makes-underwhelming-case-in-first-public-hearing\/\" title=\"BORING: Jan 6 Committee Makes Underwhelming Case in First Public Hearing\">eroding public trust<\/a>&#8221; in public health by signing legislation that empowers the Illinois Department of Health to set its own vaccine guidelines independent of federal authority. Pritzker praised state lawmakers and public health leaders for opposing what he called &#8220;federal junk science.&#8221; Illinois lawmakers, including State Rep. Bob Morgan, defended the state&#8217;s efforts to counter federally spread misinformation, particularly regarding vaccines and health policies.<\/p>\n<p>HHS Communications Director Andrew Nixon responded by condemning Democrat-led states for unscientific COVID-era policies such as school closures, mask mandates, and vaccine passports, accusing Pritzker of undermining trust and attempting to reinvent public health under questionable pretenses. Simultaneously occurring, the Illinois Department of Public Health affirmed its commitment to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ny-post-editorial-board-why-red-states-are-winning-the-post-covid-economy\/\" title=\"NY Post Editorial Board: Why Red ... Are Winning the Post...COVID Economy\">science-based policies<\/a> and continues to recommend universal newborn hepatitis B vaccination despite recent changes to federal CDC guidelines, which now allow delaying the birth dose if the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/despite-attacks-poll-shows-rfk-jr-is-the-most-popular-member-of-trumps-cabinet\/\" title=\"Despite Attacks, Poll Shows RFK Jr. Is the &#039;Most Popular&#039; Member of Trump&#039;s Cabinet\">mother tests negative<\/a> for hepatitis B.<\/p>\n<p>The article also highlights contrasting approaches in other states like florida,which seeks to expand family freedom regarding vaccine schedules. Additionally, the CDC&#8217;s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recently voted to revise hepatitis B vaccination recommendations, promoting individualized decision-making by parents in consultation with healthcare providers. This shift, along with ongoing debates over vaccine policies and public trust post-pandemic, underscores the tension between state and federal health authorities and differing perspectives on public health governance.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">HHS: Pritzker &lsquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/are-covid-politics-causing-a-public-health-brain-drain\/\" title=\"Are COVID Politics Causing a ... Brain Drain?\">eroded public trust<\/a>&rsquo; in public health<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2424675\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>(The Center Square) &ndash; A U.S. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/health-and-human-services\/\">Department of Health and Human Services<\/a> spokesman says Illinois Gov. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/jb-pritzker-2\/\">JB Pritzker<\/a> eroded public trust and is trying to reinvent public health.<\/p>\n<p>The governor thanked Democratic state lawmakers last week when he signed legislation to empower the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/illinois\/\">Illinois<\/a> Department of Health to circumvent the federal government and issue its own <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/vaccines\/\">vaccine<\/a> guidelines.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/healthcare\/3909060\/cdc-panel-review-aluminum-vaccines-autism\/\">CDC panel to start review of aluminum in vaccines and autism<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/healthcare\/3908929\/rick-perry-push-fda-approval-psychedelic-treatments-for-veterans\/\">Some push for FDA approval of psychedelic treatments for veterans<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/healthcare\/3908555\/cdc-panel-drop-guidance-universal-newborn-hep-b-vaccination\/\">CDC panel votes to drop guidance for universal newborn hepatitis B vaccination<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;d also like to acknowledge the folks who are debunking the federal government&rsquo;s junk science, our public health leaders who advocated for this bill to protect the well-being of the people of Illinois,&rdquo; Pritzker said.<\/p>\n<p>State Rep. Bob Morgan (D-Deerfield) joined Pritzker&rsquo;s criticism of President Donald Trump&rsquo;s administration and the U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Illinois will go on the offense. We are not powerless. We can defend against the delusions stemming from RFK Jr.&rsquo;s unfounded assertions that Tylenol causes autism or that vaccines fail to prevent illness,&rdquo; Morgan said.<\/p>\n<p>HHS Communications Director Andrew Nixon provided <em>The Center Square<\/em> with a statement after Pritzker&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thecentersquare.com\/illinois\/article_375499c8-e0e8-4416-98b3-9aecd6c7f8a6.html\">signed<\/a>&nbsp;House Bill 767 in Chicago on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Democrat-led states that imposed unscientific school closures, toddler mask mandates, and vaccine passports during the COVID era destroyed public trust and should not be guiding policy,&rdquo; Nixon said.<\/p>\n<p>Nixon&rsquo;s statement also included remarks about Pritzker.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Now, the same governor who eroded public trust is trying to reinvent public health under the guise of &lsquo;filling a void.&rsquo; The Trump Administration and Secretary Kennedy are rebuilding that trust by grounding every policy in rigorous evidence and Gold Standard Science &ndash; not the failed politics of the pandemic,&rdquo; Nixon concluded.<\/p>\n<p>On Friday, the U.S. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/cdc\/\">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention&rsquo;s<\/a> Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)&nbsp;voted to change its hepatitis B vaccination recommendation for infants from birth to no earlier than two months if the mother tests negative for hepatitis B.<\/p>\n<p>Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Sameer Vohra responded with a statement.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;As a pediatrician and a parent, I am deeply concerned by this shift away from universal newborn vaccination, particularly in the absence of any new scientific evidence to support such a change. In Illinois, we remain committed to <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >science-based public health policy<\/a> and&nbsp;have recently enshrined into law&nbsp;vaccine access and a state-level structure to provide evidence-based recommendations,&rdquo; Vohra said.<\/p>\n<p>The IDPH director said the current guidance in Illinois remains unchanged.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Earlier this fall, the Illinois Department of Public Health&nbsp;adopted the CDC immunization schedules as revised on August 7, 2025, which continue to recommend hepatitis B vaccination for all newborns,&rdquo; Vohra stated.<\/p>\n<p>Before the ACIP voted, Morgan criticized the proposed change away from hepatitis B vaccination at birth.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Something that saves 98% of those who get three shots of hep B,&rdquo; Morgan said.<\/p>\n<p>During the Illinois House floor debate in October, state Rep. Bill Hauter (R-Morton) called Morgan&rsquo;s legislation &ldquo;a Trump Derangement Syndrome bill.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>As Morgan&rsquo;s HB 767 gives Illinois state health officials more power, Florida is moving to give individual families more freedom.<\/p>\n<p>Florida&rsquo;s surgeon general, Dr. Joe Ladapo, told MAHA Media that his state is trying to end discrimination against patients and families who make different vaccine choices.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This extends from every family who, for example, maybe doesn&rsquo;t want a single vaccine to families who want all the vaccines but just want to take them on their own timetable,&rdquo; Ladapo said.<\/p>\n<p>During Friday&rsquo;s ACIP meeting, committee vice chair Robert Malone said the public lost trust in vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic. The panel voted 8-3 in favor of changing the hepatitis B recommendations.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Cody Meissner voted against the change, noting that the American Academy of Pediatrics did not participate in ACIP deliberations.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The academy has a long history of working closely with ACIP for the betterment of vaccine recommendations for children,&rdquo; Meister said.<\/p>\n<p>Meister expressed concern that the academy would be seen as more focused on making a political statement instead of focusing on the health of children.<\/p>\n<p>In the CDC statement announcing the change, the agency noted that it was recommending individual-based decision-making for parents.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;ACIP also voted to recommend that when evaluating the need for a subsequent hepatitis B vaccine dose in children, parents should consult with health care providers to decide whether to test antibody levels to hepatitis surface antigen to evaluate adequacy of protection through serology results,&rdquo; the statement said.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/healthcare\/3909060\/cdc-panel-review-aluminum-vaccines-autism\/\">CDC PANEL TO START REVIEW OF ALUMINUM IN VACCINES AND AUTISM<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A recommendation from ACIP becomes part of the CDC immunization schedule once it is adopted by the CDC director.<\/p>\n<p>The Illinois Immunization Advisory Committee will convene on Dec. 16 to review the latest ACIP recommendation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>HHS: Pritzker &#8216;eroded public trust&#8217; in public health<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2869,"featured_media":2518295,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AP25279771993304.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651,538],"tags":[8235,20657,32068,47267],"class_list":["post-2518292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","category-washington-examiner","tag-hhs","tag-pritzker","tag-public-health","tag-public-trust"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AP25279771993304.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2518292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2869"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2518292"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2518292\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2518297,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2518292\/revisions\/2518297"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2518295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2518292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2518292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2518292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}