Five months after taking over the federal agency responsible for the health of all Americans, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wants to overhaul an obscure but vital program that underpins the nation’s childhood immunization system.

The nearly 40-year-old law that created the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program has received a lot of attention this month.

It’s Kennedy’s latest reform in how the country regulates vaccines. He replaced the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which recommends vaccine guidance. That panel recently voted to stop recommending flu shots with thimerosal.