Ken Paxton, the attorney general of Texas and Republican candidate for the US Senate, has announced investigations into pediatricians, vaccine manufacturers, and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in connection with what he characterizes as vaccine-related misconduct. Paxton launched the initial investigation in January, alleging an illegal conspiracy between pediatricians, vaccine makers, and insurance companies to incentivize vaccine administration. He has framed these actions as aligned with the Make America Healthy Again (Maha) movement championed by Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the HHS secretary, and directly invoked their positions on vaccines in his public statements.
Payton’s allegations center on claims that pharmaceutical and insurance industries attempted to “bribe” medical providers and that the AAP recommended vaccines for financial gain. An August investigation into the AAP referenced a lawsuit the organization filed earlier in the year to block changes to the childhood immunization schedule. Meanwhile, Texas enacted a law making it easier for parents to request school vaccine exemptions, coinciding with declining measles, mumps, and rubella vaccination rates in the state—with only 93.3% of kindergarteners fully vaccinated against measles.
Pediatricians dispute characterizations of financial incentives. Marjan Linnell, president-elect of the Texas Pediatric Society, stated that pediatricians are among the lowest-paid medical specialties and “barely break even” on vaccines. Katherine Wells, director of Lubbock Public Health, indicated she receives only $13 for administering vaccines when provided free by the state, stating she takes a loss on each vaccination administered. Meanwhile, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has faced scrutiny over his own financial interests in vaccine litigation, having earned at least $2.5 million in referral fees and holding a 10% contingency stake in a Gardasil vaccine lawsuit that reportedly settled for approximately $50 million in June.
Medical professionals have expressed concern that investigations could deter pediatricians from practicing, particularly those in smaller practices facing substantial legal and administrative costs. Paul Offit, a vaccines expert at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, characterized the actions as a “war on pediatricians” motivated by political desperation. Linnell warned that such investigations could exacerbate Texas’s primary care shortage and increase risks of vaccine-preventable diseases spreading, noting she has encountered diseases she had not previously seen in her career.
At least one Texas pediatrician has received letters from the attorney general’s consumer protection division requesting details on vaccination records and any financial benefits received from vaccine manufacturers. The broad scope of potential investigations has raised questions about the future of pediatric practice in the state.
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