RFK Jr. is a Threat to the Health of All Americans!

During congressional testimony earlier this year Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) Jr. stated that “My opinions about vaccines are irrelevant”, and “I don’t think people should be taking medical advice from me.” I am in full agreement that no one should take medical advice from RFK Jr., but unfortunately President Trump does. As the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), RFK Jr. is the principal advisor to the president on health policy and programs. He oversees the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and several other public health organizations.
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RFK Jr. has no medical or scientific background, has promulgated unproven theories on the causes of autism, condemned the use of fluoride in drinking water, promoted alternative medicines and health products, and spent decades spreading falsehoods about the dangers of vaccines. Yet Trump has put this man in charge of setting and implementing health policies which have an impact on every American.  With the appointment of RFK Jr. Trump has succeeded in politicizing health care and science and found a new way to further divide an already polarized country.

Who is RFK Jr.: RFK Jr.’s most notable credentials are that he is the son of the late senator Robert F. Kennedy, and the nephew of President John F. Kennedy. He has spent most of his career as an environment lawyer, working with such organizations as “Riverkeeper”, “Natural Resources Defense Fund”, “Pace’s Environmental Litigation Clinic”, and the “Waterkeeper Alliance”.
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RFK Jr. is perhaps best known for his anti-vaccine work, and through most of the 2000s has been a prominent voice in the anti-vaccine movement. From 2015-2023 he was the chairman of the nonprofit “Children’s Health Defense”, which mainly focuses on anti-vaccine advocacy and is a major source of misinformation on vaccines to this day. In recent years RFK Jr. was also working with personal-injury law firms, collecting millions of dollars in fees from cases brought against chemical and pharmaceutical companies. During his senate confirmation hearings earlier this year it was disclosed that RFK Jr. was still receiving huge fees from the law firm Wisner Braum for work on lawsuits brought against Merck and its HPV vaccine. 

RFK Jr.’s Controversial Views: 

• Autism: RFK Jr. has published several articles promoting the theory that thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative in some vaccines, was linked to a rise in childhood autism. This has been repeatedly discredited by the scientific community. RFK Jr. has stated that he believes that governments and the media are conspiring to deny that vaccines cause autism. Since 2001 thimerosal has been removed from all routinely used childhood vaccines.
• No Safe Vaccines: RFK Jr. stands by his conviction that “There’s no vaccine that is safe and effective.”
• COVID-19 Vaccines: In May 2021, RFK Jr. petitioned the FDA to rescind authorization for all current and future COVID-19 vaccines.  Even after being sworn in as HHS Secretary, RFK Jr. has claimed that COVID-19 vaccines, made using mRNA technology, fail to protect against COVID-19. During Senate testimony earlier this month he stated that he agrees that there was indisputable evidence that mRNA vaccines cause serious harm including death, especially among young people and children. However, he was unable to present any evidence to support this assertion.
• COVID Pandemic: In his 2021 book “The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the War on Democracy and Public Health”, RFK Jr. falsely claimed that Dr. Fauci and Bill Gates conspired to prolong the pandemic and exaggerate its effect to promote expensive vaccines for the benefit of a powerful vaccine cartel. RFK Jr. also accused these men of conspiring with Facebook and other social media companies to suppress information about COVID-19 cures to promote vaccines as the only option in the fight against COVID. The book also promotes the false theory that there is no proof that HIV causes AIDS.  During Senate testimony RFK Jr. also claimed that there is no conclusive data on the number of Americans killed by COVID-19, even though the CDC’s website lists the number at 1,234,777 through 9/6/2025.
• Fluoride in Drinking Water: For many years RFK Jr. has promoted the theory that there is no safe level of fluoride in drinking water and has been on a crusade to have it removed. He has used questionable data to show a link between fluoride exposure and low IQ in children as well as thyroid and bone disorders. The American Dental Association and the CDC maintain that water fluoridation is a safe and highly effective way of preventing tooth decay. 

Actions Speak Louder Than Words: During his Senate confirmation hearings in January, RFK Jr. made several promises to senators to assuage their fears about his controversial views. He pledged to “do nothing as HHS Secretary that makes it difficult or discourages people from taking vaccines”. He also made the promise not to interfere with vaccine policy and would maintain the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) without any changes. Since actions speak louder than words, here are some of the actions taken by RFK Jr. since being sworn in as HHS Secretary:
 
Response to Measles Outbreak in Texas: Earlier this year a measles outbreak in Texas resulted in the deaths of two children and a total of 762 confirmed cases. RFK Jr. largely downplayed the severity of the outbreak and promoted several unproven treatments. Even though vaccination has proven effective against measles for decades he framed it as a personal choice.  RFK Jr. endorsed the use of vitamin A as a treatment that could “dramatically reduce measles mortality”, and promoted the use of aerosolized budesonide, clarithromycin, and cod liver oil as alternative treatments. 
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Massive Layoffs: In March RFK Jr. announced massive layoffs as part of a major departmental overhaul of HHS. These layoffs were finalized in July and included approximately 10,000 workers across most federal health agencies including the NIH, FDA and CDC. The CDC and FDA lost approximately 20% of their workers. 

​CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP): In June RFK Jr. fired all 17 members of ACIP, claiming that they were plagued by conflicts of interest. ACIP is the advisory panel that makes recommendations on the safety, efficacy and clinical need of vaccines. RFK Jr. quickly appointed eight hand-selected members, several of whom are reported to be critical of vaccines, particularly COVID-19 vaccines and mRNA technology, and have been linked to groups spreading vaccine misinformation. RFK Jr. will appoint several additional members to ACIP later this month.

mRNA Contracts Cancelled: Last month HHS announced the cancellation of $500 million in grants and contracts for developing mRNA vaccines. This comes on top of the cancellation of a $600 million contract with Moderna to develop an mRNA vaccine against the bird flu. RFK Jr. is intent on eliminating the use of mRNA vaccines which saved millions of lives around the world during the COVID-19 pandemic. His claims that these vaccines are ineffective and unsafe are not backed by science and will limit future vaccine development with this proven technology.
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In addition to being used to quickly bring new vaccines to market, mRNA technology shows promise in the development of hard-to-treat cancers such as pancreatic and glioblastoma.  RFK Jr.’s decision to pull the plug on mRNA research will leave the country vulnerable during the next pandemic and will cede the production of life saving vaccines and therapeutics to other countries.  

​FDA Restrictions on COVID Vaccines: On August 27 the FDA approved updated versions of the COVID-19 vaccines with new restrictions on who can get the shot. The vaccines are limited to use in adults 65 and older, and younger people with at least one medical condition that puts them at risk for severe outcomes from COVID-19. The FDA did not specify which medical conditions qualify. COVID-19 vaccines were previously approved for use in everyone 6 months and older, creating confusion for parents, physicians and pharmacists.
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Physicians can legally prescribe medications and vaccines for uses other than those approved by the FDA. This “off label” prescribing is common, but some physicians are reluctant to use it due to liability concerns and uncertainty over insurance coverage. Further confusion arises at the pharmacy counter where most Americans receive their vaccines. Pharmacists cannot legally administer vaccines for off label uses and therefore would require a prescription from a physician to so. This would necessitate a trip to the doctor for anyone under 65 who desires a COVID-19 vaccine. Even then it is unclear if insurance companies will cover the shot. Major pharmacy chains such as CVS and Walgreens are simply not providing COVID-19 vaccines in several states, restricting its availability for a large segment of the population. If creating confusion and restricting access to the updated COVID-19 vaccines were RFK Jr.’s intent, he succeeded.

​Many states such as New York, Massachusetts and New Mexico are taking matters into their own hands to assure access to vaccines. These states are rewriting state laws to give pharmacists new prescribing authority and mandating vaccine coverage by insurance companies. California, Washington, Oregon and Hawaii have formed the West Coast Health Alliance to coordinate their vaccine recommendations. This further fragments the quality of care received across the 50 states, and I fear that those states aligned with Trump will end up with the short end of the stick. 

Turmoil at the CDC: Just a month after being sworn in as director of the CDC, Susan Monarez was forced out by RFK Jr. The firing of Monarez came a few days after she refused to comply with RFK Jr.’s order to fire career CDC officials and commit to backing his advisers if they recommended restricting access to proven vaccines. Lawyers for Monarez stated that she had chosen “protecting the public over serving a political agenda.”

After the firing of Monarez, four other senior career officials at CDC resigned in protest. They were the Chief Medical Officer and Deputy Director for Program and Science, Director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, and the Director of the Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance, and Technology.
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RFK Jr. picked his longtime ally James O’Neill to be the acting director of the CDC. O’Neill has no medical or scientific training and is a former business associate of tech billionaire Peter Thiel.

I’m not opposed to all of RFK Jr.’s views and proposals. I agree with his initiative to make food healthier by removing synthetic food dyes, limiting ultra-processed foods, particularly in schools, and promoting whole foods. I also agree that our health care system needs to tackle chronic disease by focusing on prevention rather than waiting to treat the symptoms once they emerge.  But does this make RFK Jr. an effective HHS Secretary? No! I stand by my convictions that his anti-vax views, attacks on the scientific community, opposition to medical experts, and adherence to unproven theories are a clear and present danger to the people of this country. Americans can no longer rely on the advice coming from the CDC and the other departments within the HHS. These institutions have become politized and can no longer be trusted.
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For the health of this country and to restore faith in our public health institutions, RFK Jr. should resign or be fired by Donald Trump immediately. In the meantime, listen to your family doctor or other trusted health care professionals for medical advice.  

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Thanks,
Armchair American