Vaccine skepticism has worked its way from the fringes of the public to the highest levels of the federal government. The Trump administration is reportedly considering changes to a critical policy, the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, that has protected domestic vaccine supply for 40 years, which could further jeopardize vaccine access and even create shortages in the United States. These attacks on vaccines could have much more far-reaching impacts than may appear at first blush: They could effectively blow up a key pillar of the industrial policy that has maintained stable vaccine access in the U.S. for four decades.
This could create a situation where Americans who want vaccines can no longer get them. But as I explain in a new paper, the Trump administration doesn’t have to have the final word. Policymakers at the state level can step in to directly produce vaccines to prevent shortages and harm to the American people.