Nothing fishy here: R.F.K. Jr. hangs out with Russell Brand and Dr. Mehmet Oz in February.

What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

This week in American health: coronavirus-vaccine bans, C.D.C. firings, measles’ return, and the No. 1 cause of child deaths (now, officially, firearms)

By Paulina Prosnitz and Carolina de Armas

the COronavirus

On Wednesday, after consulting his horoscope and his favorite conspiracy subreddit, R.F.K. Jr. announced that the new F.D.A.-approved coronavirus vaccine will be available only to those either over the age of 64 or with high-risk medical conditions. (No word yet as to whether a dormant brain-eating worm qualifies as a high-risk condition.) This follows his decision in May to no longer recommend that pregnant women and children receive the vaccine. Think “women and children first,” but the opposite!

The c.D.C. FIRING

Also on Wednesday, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (C.D.C.) director Susan Monarez—who was confirmed less than a month ago—was fired after clashing with R.F.K. Jr. over his aforementioned vaccination policies. Four senior C.D.C. officials have resigned in response, but Monarez, far from clearing out her desk, has refused to acknowledge her firing, claiming that as a confirmed Senate appointee she can be fired only by Trump himself. Escorting Monarez off the C.D.C. premises might give the National Guard a nice break from standing intimidatingly outside the Lincoln Memorial and re-mulching the Mall.