Robert Francis Kennedy Jr. is the 26th Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). His actions terminating qualified scientists for political purposes, his opinions on vaccines and the current political state of the U.S. is being considered harmful to the country’s public health.
Aided by the spread of negative public opinion towards vaccines, Kennedy became the Secretary of HHS in February 2025.
“There has been anti-vaccination sentiment since the now redacted Andrew Wakefield study in The Lancet that tied vaccinations to autism, but the COVID-19 pandemic and mRNA vaccine rollout exacerbated everything. Health/medical misinformation became more prominent and some mainstream media outlets began to push misinformation as a consequence of public health becoming politicized and it’s continued to snowball leading us to a HHS run by Kennedy,” said Professor Ashish Upadhyaya, lecturer for the School of Health Sciences and the university’s director of the Health Professions Advising Center (HPAC).
Throughout his term, Kennedy has fired new hires from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), caused massive resignations within the CDC, and gutted the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
Eliot Alonzo, an undergraduate student studying Medical and Laboratory Sciences, expressed concerns for Kennedy’s changes to the CDC.
“I think the CDC should absolutely be protected, because of all of the work that it does for people, especially during any kind of pandemic. We need the CDC; we need [a] centralized location for vaccinations and information that the public can trust, because at this point, the public isn’t really trusting our healthcare organizations. As someone who’s going into healthcare, I want to try to remediate that, but there’s only so much that one person can do. The CDC as an organization is so respected and it shouldn’t be targeted by someone who doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” said Alonzo.
In May, the usage of AI to reference false information in RFK Jr’s health commission report further hurt public trust in the government’s handling of healthcare science.
“Healthcare and public health have become politicized at the highest levels while science and objectivity have taken a backseat. […] If Americans can’t trust the HHS and numerous departments it oversees (CDC, FDA, NIH, etc.), then who can we trust?” said Upadhyaya.
In June, to demerit vaccines, Kennedy replaced all 17 members of the CDC advisory committee dedicated to vaccine administration and research.
“The role of the CDC advisory committee on immunization practices (ACIP) is to make recommendations for vaccine policies that the CDC adopts. The committee has historically been staffed with the top vaccine experts in the country but has since been replaced by advisors who are not qualified for the position and/or have a history of anti-vaccine stances. This is important because ACIP’s recommendations have been used for everything from pediatric vaccine schedules to health insurers determining which vaccines are/are not covered,” said Upadhyaya.
In August, Kennedy fired Dr. Susan Monarez, the previous CDC director.
Investor Jim O’Neill will be taking Monarez’s place. O’Neill does not have a degree in healthcare or medicine and does not have a Ph.D.
“It increases my concern that he is not following the science, but rather trying to make the science fit his preconceived notions. Any scientist who dissents gets the axe. Another big concern is who he fills those positions with and their qualifications,” said Upadhyaya.
On Sept. 3, Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo declared that the state would work towards removing all vaccine mandates, alongside an announcement of the creation of a Florida Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) commission.
“[Getting rid of vaccine mandates] is objectively dangerous for young children and immunocompromised employees and students in the state of Florida. Herd immunity is vital to the health of the public,” Upadhyaya said.
With more people choosing not to get vaccines for themselves and their families, diseases such as measles and the flu could infect vulnerable populations at higher rates.
Experts on Scientific American said that due to how contagious measles is, vigilance is still needed in vaccinating children with the Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR) vaccine. Measles is easily imported from other countries, and vaccines effectively stop the spread of preventable diseases.
“The thing about public health is that when it is working, it will feel like nothing is going on. But as soon as it is not working properly, it becomes very obvious,” said Upadhyaya.
Upadhyaya said it would be difficult to rebuild public trust in vaccines after RFK Jr.’s work as Secretary of HHS.
On the same day as the creation of the Florida MAHA commission, over 1,000 current and former HHS staff addressed a letter to Kennedy and Congress calling for the resignation or termination of RFK Jr from his position.
“To be clear, the HHS workforce is nonpartisan, implementing science-based policies developed under both Republican and Democratic administrations. We believe health policy should be based on strong, evidence-based principles rather than partisan politics. But under Secretary Kennedy’s leadership, HHS policies are placing the health of all Americans at risk, regardless of their politics,” said the HHS staff in the letter.
The HHS letter was supported by national scientist, doctor and nurse organizations. On Sept. 4, Connecticut Congressman John B. Larson supported the call for Kennedy to resign in a press release.
