 "Trump picks Robert F Kennedy Jr as US health secretary. What are his views on drugs and vaccines?")
It’s been a week since the US presidential elections were over and Donald Trump was declared the winner, making him the 47th president of the United States. Since his win, Trump has wasted no time, setting the foundations for his second term in the White House.
He has been putting in place his team and to that effect named Robert F Kennedy Jr as his secretary of health on November 14. Announcing his choice, Trump said in a Truth Social post that Americans have been “crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies” and that Kennedy “will restore these Agencies to the traditions of Gold Standard Scientific Research, and beacons of Transparency, to end the Chronic Disease epidemic, and to Make America Great and Healthy Again!”
In choosing RFK Jr, as he is popularly called, Trump has made another provocative pick after selecting Pete Hegseth as defence secretary and firebrand Matt Gaetz as US attorney general.
The selection of RFK Jr to be the Health and Human Services Secretary has evoked mixed reactions from Americans. While Republican lawmakers celebrated, health officials and experts were aghast considering RFK Jr’s stance on vaccines — he’s against them — and drugs.
In fact, Public Citizen, a progressive non-profit organisation focusing on consumer advocacy, said: “Robert F Kennedy Jr is a clear and present danger to the nation’s health. He shouldn’t be allowed in the building at the department of health and human services (HHS), let alone be placed in charge of the nation’s public health agency.”
As outrage builds against Trump’s choice of RFK Jr, we take a closer look at what exactly are the 70-year-old’s views on matters about health.
Who is Robert F Kennedy Jr?
RFK Jr hails from America’s famous political dynasty — the Kennedys. His father was US Attorney General Robert F Kennedy, brother of President John F Kennedy. Both men were assassinated.
Trained as an environmental lawyer, he originally ran in the Democratic primary against President Joe Biden before deciding to launch an independent bid. He then suspended that campaign earlier this year and endorsed Trump, who has repeatedly praised Kennedy, promised him influence in a future administration, and vowed to “Make America Healthy Again.”
During his presidential bid, RFK Jr made big headlines when he announced that doctors found a dead parasitic worm in his brain that caused brain fog and memory problems.
He’s also made headlines for retrieving a bear that was killed by a motorist and left it in New York’s Central Park. He’s also come under investigation for allegedly cutting off the head of a dead whale and taking it home.
What are RFK Jr’s stance on vaccines and drugs?
The 70-year-old is a staunch anti-vaccine activist. Kennedy first gained national prominence for his opposition to the childhood measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, publicising debunked claims that it was linked to autism.
He has also suggested a flu vaccine may be to blame for a condition called spasmodic dysphonia, a rare neurological disorder that has impacted his voice, per an NBC report. This is not backed up by research.
He has also questioned whether HIV causes AIDS and suggested that antidepressants lead to school shootings.
Amid the COVID pandemic, he made several claims about the vaccines, of which many have been deemed as misinformation by independent fact-checkers. In 2021, his claims on COVID vaccines even earned him a spot as one of the top 12 spreaders of online misinformation by the Centre for Countering Digital Hate.
However, he insists that he isn’t anti-vaccine; last week, Kennedy said that if appointed he would “immediately” begin studying vaccine safety and efficacy but promised to not “take vaccines away from anybody.”
He has maintained that “there’s no vaccine that is safe and effective” and has urged people to resist Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines on when kids should get vaccinated.
On matters of health care, Kennedy has said that he wants to end the “FDA’s war on public health” including what he called “aggressive suppression” of psychedelics, peptides, stem cells, raw milk, and more.
He has also called for the end of the public health practice of putting fluoride in water, calling it “an industrial waste associated with arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders and thyroid disease”. However, health experts opine that adding fluoride to water has been one of public health’s greatest achievements and added that RFK Jr’s claims are not supported by science.
Kennedy also wants to cut workers from public health agencies. He said in an interview with MSNBC that he would cut workers in “the nutrition departments” at the US Food and Drug Administration. While speaking at a conference in Arizona earlier, Kennedy proposed replacing 600 officials at the National Institutes of Health with hand-picked staff.
What have been the reactions to RFK Jr’s appointment?
Trump’s choice of Kennedy has pleased many Republicans, who share the same views as him. Senator Bill Cassidy said, “RFK Jr has championed issues like healthy foods and the need for greater transparency in our public health infrastructure. I look forward to learning more about his other policy positions and how they will support a conservative, pro-American agenda.”
Republican Representative Chip Roy of Texas said, “I think Robert is another disruptor. We need a disruptor. I will be glad and I’m looking forward to working with him.”
However, medical experts are aghast at Trump’s choice.
Public Citizen’s co-president Lisa Gilbert told USAToday, “Kennedy is a science-denying, morally-bankrupt conspiracy theorist who will endanger people’s lives if placed in a position of authority over health. The US Senate should unanimously reject this nomination.”
Echoing similar feelings, Apu Akkad, an infectious disease physician at the University of Southern California, called the announcement a “scary day for public health”.
Alastair McAlpine, a paediatric physician at British Columbia’s Children’s Hospital, told The Guardian: “It is hard to overstate what a terrible decision this is. RFK Jr has no medical training. He is a hardcore anti-vaccine and misinformation peddler. The last time he meddled in a state’s medical affairs (Samoa), 83 children died of measles.”
The American Public Health Association has said it will oppose the nomination. “I’m disappointed. He isn’t the right guy by training, experience or temperament,” said Executive Director Georges Benjamin. ”His anti-vaccine views make him someone who doesn’t respect the public health practice or even science, medicine to begin with. He’s just the wrong guy. Not to mention this is a big complicated agency. He’s never run anything like this.”
Even Democrats have expressed their outrage over RFK Jr’s selection. California’s Democratic representative Robert Garcia on X said it was “f***ing insane”. “He’s a vaccine denier and a tin foil hat conspiracy theorist. He will destroy our public health infrastructure and our vaccine distribution systems. This is going to cost lives.”
Senator Peter Welch of Vermont also voiced his displeasure, saying, “He’s a bit of a quack. He doesn’t believe in vaccination.”
With inputs from agencies
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