An immunologist who spoke at the "No Kings" rally in Missoula warned attendees that recent federal changes to vaccine advisory structures and contested appointments risk increasing vaccine hesitancy and harm to public health.

Stephanie Ladrop, identified in remarks as an immunologist who has worked with academic and laboratory vaccine teams, said the removal of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) members and replacement with less-qualified appointees would affect which vaccines are recommended and which insurance covers. "This committee directly decides which vaccines your clinical workers are going to give out, which vaccines the insurance companies will pay for," Ladrop said.

Ladrop told the crowd she believes the appointment of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to a senior federal health role is problematic because of his long record of questioning vaccine safety and making claims she described as "untrue, damaging, and downright ridiculous." She linked those actions to rising vaccine hesitancy and to a measles outbreak she said was the worst in more than three decades; she said three deaths have occurred in the current outbreak.

Her remarks urged attendees to rely on statements from professional medical societies and qualified experts and called for public pressure on officials to restore science-based advisory processes. "We cannot fall for manipulation and attempts to drive society and health care into chaos because this is our power of democracy," she said.

The speaker also criticized federal policy shifts she said would reduce access to care, noting cuts to Medicaid and changes to the Affordable Care Act that could increase uninsured rates and strain hospitals, particularly in rural areas.

The rally speech was an appeal to advocacy rather than a formal policy action; Ladrop directed attendees to support professional societies and state-level health alliances that are issuing guidance in the absence of federal consensus.

No federal documents or agency responses were presented at the rally. The assertions about administrative actions and casualty counts reflect the speaker's account as given at the event.