A popular awareness campaign now in its second year that encouraged people to get flu vaccines to reduce their risk of severe infection has been halted at the CDC, NPR reports.
The “Wild to Mild” initiative launched in the fall of 2023 with imagery showing wild animals being reduced to cuter, cuddlier versions—a shark juxtaposed with a goldfish and a lion vs. a kitten, for example—to show how, while you may still get the flu after being vaccinated, the shot can mitigate the virus’ severity.
After the success of its first season, the CDC relaunched the campaign this past fall, recycling the same imagery and using the cost savings to expand the reach of the promos. The latest go-round was specifically targeting pregnant people and parents of young children, two groups with an increased risk of hospitalizations and deaths from flu complications.
“We’re trying to get the message out there that just because you still got sick doesn’t mean that the vaccine didn’t benefit you. It could be that it saved your life,” Erin Burns, associate director for communications in the CDC’s influenza division, told Fierce Pharma Marketing in an interview at the time.
Now, however, with peak flu season still ongoing in the U.S., the campaign has reportedly been stopped. Two CDC staffers told NPR that officials from the agency’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases announced the cut in a Wednesday meeting, attributing the decision to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). NPR also reviewed a recording of the meeting.
According to snapshots collected by the Internet Archive, at some point between Feb. 14 and Feb. 18, the Wild to Mild webpage was wiped of its information and resources. As recently as Thursday morning, the link was offering a “page not found” message, but by midday, it began redirecting to a 2023 press release about the campaign.
The CDC’s “digital media toolkit” within its online Flu Resource Center remains cleared of all mentions of Wild to Mild, which were last available there on Feb. 18, per the Internet Archive.
In a statement sent to Fierce Pharma Marketing on Thursday, a spokesperson for the HHS refuted the accusation that the department ordered the website wipe, without commenting on the current status of the broader campaign.
“No, the CDC was not told to take down the flu vaccination campaign webpage,” the spokesperson said. “Unfortunately, officials inside the CDC who are averse to Secretary Kennedy and President Trump’s agenda seem to be intentionally falsifying and misrepresenting guidance they receive.”
Meanwhile, an HHS campaign that launched late last summer to encourage flu, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccinations to prevent a “tripledemic” remains active online. Like Wild to Mild, the far-reaching “Risk Less. Do More.” promos are meant to educate the public about how vaccines can prevent severe illness from the viruses.
The Wild to Mild campaign’s reported end comes amid Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s first few days as secretary of the HHS—which also coincided with mass government layoffs conducted by the Trump administration that included significant reductions across the health department and its many agencies.
Though Kennedy repeatedly refuted claims that he is “anti-vax” during his Senate confirmation hearings for the position and had pledged to leave vaccine recommendations from the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices untouched, he reportedly announced to HHS staff this week that he’ll be investigating the committee’s recommended childhood vaccine schedule.
The secretary has a history of casting doubt on various widely used vaccines, including the flu shot. As the New York Times reported this year in a compilation of RFK Jr.’s past vaccine skepticism, in a 2020 debate over vaccines, he claimed “there is zero evidence that the flu shot prevents any hospitalizations or any deaths,” that people who get the flu shot are “six times more likely” to pass on the virus than those who don’t and that the vaccine is responsible for a “dramatic” decrease in life expectancy for the elderly—all of which, as the Times noted, are untrue.
Editor's note: This story was updated at 1 p.m. ET to include a statement from the Department of Health and Human Services and information about the campaign website.