Vaccines

In an interview with TIME magazine, Trump said that he's open to getting rid of vaccines depending on safety reviews by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump's pick to lead HHS.

In the interview, Trump said he might get rid of some vaccines if he thinks they're "dangerous" or "not beneficial" after working with Kennedy to review evidence on them.

"I'm going to be listening to Bobby, who I've really gotten along with great and I have a lot of respect for having to do with food, having to do with vaccinations," Trump said. "I don't think it's going to be very controversial in the end."

Trump also said he wants "to see the numbers" when asked whether he believes there is a link between vaccines and autism, a view that Kennedy himself holds.

"The autism rate is at a level that nobody ever believed possible," Trump said. "If you look at things that are happening, there's something causing it."

Several public health and medical experts say widespread vaccinations have saved many Americans' lives who would have otherwise died of infectious diseases. In addition, several studies have investigated links between vaccines and autism and have found no evidence of a connection.

While autism rates have increased, experts say that trend can largely be attributed to rising awareness of the condition and changes in how it's diagnosed and screened, Axios reports.

For his part, Kennedy has said he doesn't plan to take vaccines away from anybody, saying that if vaccines "are working for somebody, I'm not going to take them away. People ought to have a choice and that choice ought to be informed by the best information."

However, Aaron Siri, the lawyer helping Kennedy pick federal health officials for the incoming Trump administration, has petitioned the government to revoke its approval of the polio vaccine and the hepatitis B vaccine, arguing the vaccines haven't been tested against placebo in randomized, double-blind clinical trials.

Siri has also petitioned the government to pause the distribution of 13 other vaccines including ones that cover tetanus, diphtheria, and hepatitis A, until their makers disclose details about aluminum, an ingredient that researchers have associated with a small increase in asthma cases.

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), a survivor of polio, said in a statement that Siri's petition could jeopardize Kennedy's confirmation to be HHS secretary. "Efforts to undermine public confidence in proven cures are not just uninformed — they're dangerous," McConnell said. "Anyone seeking the Senate's consent to serve in the incoming administration would do well to steer clear of even the appearance of association with such efforts." 

Mifepristone

During the interview with TIME, Trump also said that he will ensure FDA doesn't block access to the abortion pill mifepristone.

In the interview, Trump said he had been "against stopping" the pill during his campaign and that it was "very unlikely" he would restrict access.

"There will be a time in the future where people are going to know everything about subjects like that, which are very complex subjects for people, because you have other people that, you know, they feel strongly both ways, really strongly both ways, and those are the things that are dividing up the country," Trump said. "But you know my stand from a very long, hard thing, and I think it's highly unlikely that I ever change that."

When pressed on whether he'd ensure FDA didn't strip access to mifepristone, Trump said, "That would be my commitment."

In June, the Supreme Court unanimously rejected a challenge to mifepristone, finding that the group of anti-abortion doctors challenging FDA's decision on the drug lacked legal standing. However, several states are continuing to challenge FDA rules that expanded access to the pill.

Trump allies and co-leaders of the new Department of Governmental Efficiency Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy also suggested earlier this month that they would support ending daylight saving time.

It's unclear whether Trump would support making daylight saving time or standard time permanent. According to Axios, making standard time permanent would extend morning sunlight during the year while making daylight saving time permanent would extend it in the evening.

Many health experts have long called for daylight saving time to be abolished in favor of permanent standard time, given the impacts of changing the clocks. Research has found increased rates of ED visits and an increased risk of atrial fibrillation, depression, and suicide following daylight saving time.

Ending daylight saving time would require the approval of Congress. There have been several bipartisan bills to do so, but all of them have failed. In 2022, the Senate unanimously passed a bill to make daylight saving time permanent, but the bill died in the House.