Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s confirmation hearing on January 29th exposed his ill-informed views on many health-related topics, including Lyme disease, pesticides, and vaccines. Given the ongoing efforts by the new administration to discredit science and public health, I want to take a closer look at what he has said regarding vaccines during the hearing, what he has said or done in the past, and what his potential confirmation means for public health.
During the hearing, Mr. Kennedy Jr. claimed that the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) approved COVID-19 vaccines “without any scientific basis.” This is not accurate. The vaccines for COVID-19 are among the most studied and scientifically tested vaccines in history, with several large clinical studies demonstrating that the health benefits of these vaccines, which include reducing the risk of death from infection by the virus, far outweigh any risks or side-effects. In fact, hospital data have shown that unvaccinated people are more than twice as likely to die from COVID-19, compared to people who have been vaccinated.
When asked by a senator if he would not hesitate to reassure parents that the hepatitis B and measles vaccines do not cause autism, Mr. Kennedy refused to do that, and avoided the question by saying, “if the data is there, I will absolutely do that.” In reality, there are decades and decades of research (yes, data!) by researchers in the U.S. and beyond that shows that there is no scientific link between these vaccines and autism.
During his hearing, Mr. Kennedy Jr. attempted to distance himself from claims he made in the past against vaccines. He said that he was “pro-safety,” but not anti-vaccine. He also said that he had gotten all of his children vaccinated, even though he has said previously that he regrets doing this.
Any reversal of opinions by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. during his hearing was for the benefit of the media and those questioning him and does not reflect his true beliefs. Robert F. Kennedy is an environmental lawyer with little to no background in public health, healthcare or science. If Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is confirmed as the new secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (which appears to be case), it is likely that his anti-vaccine sentiments will influence the policy and positioning of DHHS, as well as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which he would also oversee. He can easily roll back vaccine research and manufacturing, while also continuing to weaken Americans’ confidence in vaccines through his communications.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also stated during the hearing that he would “do nothing…, that makes it difficult or discourages people from taking” vaccines. In the past, while he was leading the Children’s Health Defense nonprofit, Mr. Kennedy Jr. asked the FDA to reverse its emergency authorization of the COVID-19 vaccines and to not approve future vaccines. Thankfully, he was unsuccessful. As of November 2022, COVID-19 vaccines have prevented more than 18.5 million hospitalizations in the U.S., 3.2 million deaths and saved the nation $1.15 trillion in healthcare costs.
Vaccines are one of the strongest tools available to help prevent serious illness, complications and death. They are critical to ensure good health for our community, helping fight many common illnesses and new ones, like bird flu and monkeypox. Federal vaccination policies and programs protect the public’s health, while the “Make America Healthy Again” movement proposed by Mr. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine skeptic, will do the opposite.
