On 13 February 2025, Robert Fitzgerald Kennedy Jr. was confirmed as Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, responsible for public health and biomedical research agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Under a motto of “Make American Healthy Again”, Kennedy holds controversial views on several health policies. Foremost is his view on vaccination. Although he denies being against vaccination, Kennedy holds that vaccines are not safe, and he blames them for causing autism, an association that has been disproven. He considers COVID-19 vaccines to be the most unsafe, and he unsuccessfully petitioned the FDA to revoke approval. He is founder and former chair of the Children’s Health Defense, a major anti-vaccination organization.
Already his anti-vaccination sentiment has led to fewer vaccinations, and parts of the United States are experiencing a measles outbreak. This has prompted “qualified support” from Kennedy that falls short of urging the public to get vaccinated. Instead, he promotes alternative, unproven treatments.
Kennedy postponed the meeting of CDC’s advisory committee on immunization, which makes recommendations to the CDC about vaccines, and he plans to change committee membership. Kennedy wants to focus on “informed consent” in the vaccination process, which may mean focusing on the potential risks of vaccines and downplaying their benefits. He has canceled a flu vaccination advertising campaign that has been running since 2023. More generally, Kennedy wants to reprioritize funding from infectious to chronic diseases.
For the most part Kennedy has not opposed Trump’s executive order reducing HHS funding, including lowering NIH funding and cutting CDC and FDA staffing. Regarding the FDA, Kennedy is looking at changing membership on committees that advise the FDA.
Kennedy’s confirmation has been opposed by much of the medical community. Led by a by a progressive advocacy group, 18,000 physicians signed a letter opposed to his confirmation. Public health officials, practitioners, and organizations have also publicly expressed opposition. The American Public Health Association has issued public statements and letters to Congress.