¶ Overview
Zach Lahn called for removing COVID-19 vaccines from the market, banning mRNA vaccines, and eliminating all vaccine requirements tied to school enrollment, arguing that the medical establishment had "lost our trust."
Lahn praised delaying certain newborn hepatitis B vaccinations as a “MAHA win” despite warnings it could increase infections, deaths, and health care costs. He also attacked organizations like the World Health Organization as "globalist organizations" that sought to strip away rights and sovereignty.
In 2026, Lahn received the endorsement of Stand For Health Freedom, an organization that opposed vaccine requirements. Lahn also signed Americans For Health Freedom's pledge calling for COVID vaccines and mRNA shots to be pulled from the market. Lahn further aligned himself with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s MAHA movement, becoming the first candidate endorsed by MAHA Action and describing Kennedy as a major motivation for his campaign.
¶ Lahn Sowed Distrust In Public Health Institutions And Vaccines, And Supported Banning mRNA Vaccines And School Vaccine Requirements And Scaling Back Hepatitis B Vaccine Recommendations For Newborns
¶ Lahn Expressed Distrust Of Public Health Institutions And Questioned Vaccine Safety
January 2026: Lahn Claimed The Medical Establishment Had “Lost Our Trust” And Called For Removing COVID-19 Vaccines From The Market. According to Radio Iowa, "The subject came up during this week’s debate sponsored by Moms for Liberty. Zach Lahn, a businessman and farmer, said he would pull all COVID shots off the market in Iowa and end all childhood vaccine requirements connected to enrollment in Iowa schools. ‘We cannot trust the medical establishment in Iowa anymore. They have lost our trust,’ Lahn said, getting applause and whistles from the crowd, ‘and they have done nothing to earn it back.’" [Radio Iowa, 1/31/26]
February 2026: Lahn Attacked International Organizations, Such As The World Health Organization, As “Globalist Organizations” That Sought To Strip Away Rights And Sovereignty. According to River Cities’ Reader, "As Iowa’s Governor, would you commit to your fellow Iowans that any emergency proclamations you declare will be supported by Iowa specific facts and not because a federal agency or global Non-Governmental Organization like the W.H.O., or even the World Economic Forum says so, especially when such decisions put Iowan's constitutionally protected rights in jeopardy?' ZACH LAHN: Yeah, I think this just goes back to an understanding of the Constitution and the power of the states. The Tenth Amendment gives us this protection. Whether I've already talked about the WEF, the WHO, these are globalist organizations that are here to strip rights away from us and to take our sovereignty. My campaign is about putting Iowa first, period. I believe emergency declarations need to be passed down to as low of governmental level as possible so we don't ever have the overreach that we saw in so many states; but 100%, the WEF is not a friend, they are an enemy. The WHO does not have our best interests at heart. And we have got to actively sue the federal government because of the overturning the Chevron doctrine to stop the federal overreach in our state. And I am committed to doing that as governor." [River Cities’ Reader, 2/6/26]
¶ Lahn Embraced Anti-Vaccine Positions, Including Banning mRNA Vaccines, Scaling Back Newborn Vaccination Recommendations, And Ending School Vaccine Requirements
¶ Lahn Supported Banning mRNA Vaccines
Lahn Supported Banning mRNA Vaccines And Pulling COVID-19 Vaccinations Off The Market. According to the Des Moines Register, "He has also called for banning all mRNA vaccines and pulling COVID-19 vaccinations from the market." [Des Moines Register, 6/3/26]
¶ Lahn Praised Changes To Newborn Hepatitis B Vaccination Recommendations Despite Warnings From Medical Experts
December 2025: Lahn Praised Ending Routine Hepatitis B Vaccination Recommendations For Newborns Born To Mothers Who Tested Negative And Called It A “MAHA Win.” According to Lahn’s Twitter, "The new recommendation defers to parents for babies born to mothers who test negative for hepatitis B, and for any parent choosing to vaccinate, the first dose should be given at two months of age. Common sense. There is no logical argument against this and for giving millions of one-day-old babies - whose mothers have already tested negative - a vaccine for a virus that spreads primarily through sharing drug needles and sexual contact. And instead of just giving a booster to pad big Pharma pockets, now the recommendation is to test for immunity from the first dose and act accordingly. Common Sense. A MAHA Win."
[Twitter, @ZachLahn, 12/5/25]
¶ Medical Experts Warned Delaying Newborn Hepatitis B Vaccination Could Increase Infections, Deaths, And Health Care Costs
Studies From JAMA Pediatrics Warned Ending The Recommendation For Newborn Hepatitis B Vaccination Could Lead To More Infections, Liver Cancer Cases, And Deaths. According to the Washington Post, "The Trump administration’s decision to drop the long-standing recommendation that newborns receive a hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours of birth will likely lead to hundreds of additional infections among children, along with more cases of liver cancer, deaths and millions in added health care costs, according to studies published Monday in JAMA Pediatrics.” [Washington Post, 4/27/26]
Pediatricians And Medical Groups Warned Delaying Newborn Hepatitis B Vaccination Could Harm Children And Increase Lifetime Health Care Costs By At Least $16 Million. According to the Washington Post, "Pediatricians and dozens of medical groups strongly opposed the move, saying it was not based on evidence, and warned it could harm children and their families. Although medications can control hepatitis B, there is no cure for chronic infection. The JAMA studies are the first to model the policy’s potential impact. One estimated that delaying the first hepatitis B vaccine dose by two months for babies born in a single year to mothers who tested negative — about 80 percent of the 3.6 million U.S. births annually — would increase lifetime health-care costs by at least $16 million." [Washington Post, 4/27/26]
¶ Lahn Supported Ending School Vaccine Requirements
Lahn Called For Eliminating School Vaccine Mandates, Claiming Vaccines Should Not Be A “Requirement To Participate In Society.” According to the Washington Post, "Lahn was also embraced by some vaccine critics, including Stand for Health Freedom, which advocates against vaccine mandates. Although the issue wasn’t central to his campaign, Lahn said that he wanted to pull mRNA coronavirus shots off the market and to end vaccine requirements to attend schools, a position that has concerned public health experts who fear a resurgence of preventable diseases. He told The Post that vaccinations shouldn’t be a ‘requirement to participate in society.’" [Washington Post, 6/8/26]
- Public Health Experts Warned Ending School Vaccination Requirements Could Lead To A Resurgence Of Preventable Diseases. According to the Washington Post, "Lahn was also embraced by some vaccine critics, including Stand for Health Freedom, which advocates against vaccine mandates. Although the issue wasn’t central to his campaign, Lahn said that he wanted to pull mRNA coronavirus shots off the market and to end vaccine requirements to attend schools, a position that has concerned public health experts who fear a resurgence of preventable diseases. He told The Post that vaccinations shouldn’t be a ‘requirement to participate in society.’" [Washington Post, 6/8/26]
¶ Lahn Aligned With Anti-Vaccine Organizations And The MAHA Movement
¶ Lahn Received The Endorsement Of Stand For Health Freedom In 2026, An Anti-Vaccine Organization
¶ Stand For Health Freedom Endorsed Lahn’s Gubernatorial Campaign
2026: Stand For Health Freedom Endorsed Lahn For Governor Of Iowa. According to Lahn’s Twitter, "Stand for Health Freedom is standing with us, and I am honored to have their endorsement. When the medical establishment lost our trust during the pandemic, Stand for Health Freedom’s grassroots network was there to defend parents and kids across the country. From proper food labels to vaccine safety and clear skies, Stand for Health Freedom has been there. As Governor, I will be there too. I will always stand for health freedom and will put parental rights over government control - every time. Iowa First. Parents First. Kids First."
[Twitter, @ZachLahn, 2/4/26]
Lahn Aligned With Stand For Health Freedom, Which Advocated Against Vaccine Requirements. According to the Washington Post, "Lahn was also embraced by some vaccine critics, including Stand for Health Freedom, which advocates against vaccine mandates. Although the issue wasn’t central to his campaign, Lahn said that he wanted to pull mRNA coronavirus shots off the market and to end vaccine requirements to attend schools, a position that has concerned public health experts who fear a resurgence of preventable diseases. He told The Post that vaccinations shouldn’t be a ‘requirement to participate in society.’" [Washington Post, 6/8/26]
Stand For Health Freedom Was One Of The National Groups Connected To Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. And The Group Supported Anti-Vaccine Legislation Across The Country. According to PBS, “Since vaccines became more politicized during the pandemic, more extreme vaccine bills have passed, said Dorit Reiss, a vaccine law expert at UC Law San Francisco. ‘At times of uncertainty and trouble, conspiracy theories have more of a wedge,’ Reiss said. Most bills haven’t passed – some died and others are pending – but at least 26 anti-vaccine laws have been adopted in 11 states this year. Most of those bills were supported by at least one of four national groups connected to Kennedy: MAHA Action, Stand for Health Freedom, the National Vaccine Information Center and the Weston A. Price Foundation. The groups also opposed dozens of science-driven bills, including one that would protect people by tightening rabies vaccine requirements for pets. There’s a web of connections among the groups and Kennedy. MAHA Action has been run by people close to him, including his longtime book publisher, Tony Lyons, and former campaign staffer Del Bigtree. Stand for Health Freedom was co-founded by Sayer Ji, who now advises the group and volunteers with MAHA Action.” [PBS, 10/21/25]
¶ 2026: Signed Americans For Health Freedom’s Pledge Opposing COVID Vaccines, mRNA Shots, And Vaccine Mandates
2026: Zach Lahn Signed A Pledge With Americans For Health Freedom To Remove COVID Vaccines And mRNA Shots. According to Americans For Health Freedom, "Foundational project Over 17,000 physicians and scientists have called for the modified mRNA COVID shots to be pulled off the market. A growing group elected officials and candidates have joined the effort to send a strong, unified message to Congress: PULL THE COVID SHOTS OFF THE MARKET. As of 6/3/2026, we have 300 elected officials, 39 candidates, 1 Surgeon General, 1 state Republican party, 1 state congressional district, 17 Republican Party county committees and 7 physician organizations pledging to call for the covid shots to be pulled off the market and not take donations from Big Pharma. States With Bills banning mrna injections, 2025 Legislative session: Texas HB3176 (died), Idaho S1036 (died), Kentucky HB469 (died), Minnesota HF3219 (died), South Carolina HB4262 (died), Montana HB371 (died - VOTING RECORD), Iowa SF360 (died), Mississippi HB762 (died), New York AB4798 (died) CANDIDATES (2026) [...] Iowa: Zach Lahn Governor."
[Americans For Health Freedom, Archived 6/8/26]
Americans For Health Freedom’s Pledge Called On Candidates To Oppose COVID Vaccines, mRNA Shots, And Vaccine Mandates. According to Americans For Health Freedom, “The COVID shots are not safe and not effective. We ask the people we elect to represent and protect us to take a stand and call for these dangerous modified mRNA products to be pulled off the market. By signing, I pledge to call for the COVID shots to be pulled off the market.”
[Americans For Health Freedom, Archived 6/8/26]
¶ Lahn Aligned Himself With Robert F. Kennedy Jr. And The MAHA Movement
¶ Lahn Was The First Candidate Endorsed By MAHA Action
Lahn Was The First Candidate Endorsed By MAHA Action, A Group Aligned With Robert F. Kennedy Jr. According to Iowa Capital Dispatch, "I’m very proud to be the first candidate ever to be endorsed by the Make America Healthy Again organization that is fighting for Bobby Kennedy’s principles in D.C.,’ Lahn said. ‘The next generation is facing a reality that they’re the first generation in recorded history to likely have a lower lifespan than previous generations.’” [Iowa Capital Dispatch, 5/5/26]
¶ Lahn Said Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Was A Major “Motivation” For His Campaign And Declared “The MAHA Movement Is Real”
Lahn Said Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Was A Major “Motivation” For His Campaign And Declared “The MAHA Movement Is Real.” According to the Washington Post, "In an interview, Lahn confirmed that he met Kennedy last summer and they talked ‘a little bit about the race’ when he was considering running, but mostly about agriculture. Lahn said he called Kennedy briefly after he won the primary last week and that Kennedy was a big motivation for why he wanted to run in the first place. ‘The [MAHA] movement is real,’ Lahn said. ‘Whether you’re left or right, you don’t want our kids getting sick. You want to have real food. You want to make sure your environmental toxins are minimized. And you want low cancer rates.’" [Washington Post, 6/8/26]
¶ Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Was A Longtime Vaccine Critic Who Promoted Debunked Claims About Vaccines
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Was A Longtime Vaccine Critic Who Promoted Conspiracy Theories About Vaccines. According to Chemistry World, "The moment Robert F Kennedy Jr’s name was floated in late 2024 as President Trump’s pick for health secretary serious concerns erupted in the scientific and public health communities about the future of vaccine R&D and policy in the country. This was primarily because of Kennedy’s long history as a very public vaccine critic and a conspiracy theorist, promoting, for example, the discredited claim that vaccines cause autism." [Chemistry World, 6/8/26]