Convincing Senate Republicans that he does not have radical views on vaccines may be the most difficult task facing Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as he meets with them on the Hill this week to seek his confirmation as secretary of health and human services.
That would be challenging, though, given Kennedy’s decades-long public opposition to vaccines, which includes his affiliation with Children’s Health Defense, a prominent anti-vaccine organization, and his repeated fabrications that vaccines cause autism.
Concerns over Kennedy’s potential use of his position as health secretary have increased in recent days. The New York Times revealed this week that Kennedy’s attorney, who is vetting applicants for HHS positions, petitioned the Food and Drug Administration in 2022 to rescind the polio vaccine’s clearance. According to the Times, the petition was filed on behalf of the Kennedy-affiliated anti-vaccine organization Informed Consent Action Network.
Donald Trump, the president-elect, fueled the controversy on Monday by stating at a press conference that he thinks vaccines have flaws and that they might be connected to an increase in autism cases. However, Trump stated that he strongly supports the polio vaccine.
In a statement released Friday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., a polio survivor and a possible pivotal player in Kennedy’s confirmation, took a jab at Kennedy.
According to McConnell, attempts to erode public trust in tried-and-true treatments are not only ignorant; they are harmful. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, since its approval in the United States in 1955, the polio vaccination has saved an estimated 20 million cases of childhood paralysis.
Kennedy’s lengthy history of anti-vaccine advocacy, according to experts, might result in major adjustments to American kid vaccination laws and jeopardize decades of advancements in the fight against diseases like whooping cough, polio, and measles.
A follow-up request for comment was not answered by a Kennedy representative. Kennedy spokeswoman Katie Miller previously told NBC News that the polio vaccine should be made publicly available and appropriately and extensively researched.
However, that statement is contradicted by Kennedy’s earlier remarks. Kennedy said there is no safe and effective vaccine and connected the polio vaccine to cancer on the Lex Fridman Podcast last year.
Advisory committees
States have most of the power over the complicated childhood immunization laws in the United States.
Kennedy might, however, have a significant impact on children vaccines, according to experts.
If confirmed as health secretary, Kennedy would oversee a suite of health agencies that includes the CDC, the FDA, the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, among others.
His greatest influence on vaccines, experts say, could come through the CDC sAdvisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, an independent group of health experts that helps the agency make recommendations for states and insurers on what vaccines to cover, including childhood vaccinations.
The director of the CDC is the committee’s boss. The HHS secretary is then notified of the vaccination recommendations by the CDC director. Last month, Trumptapped Dr. Dave Weldon, a former congressman from Florida and a physician who has made false claims about vaccines, to lead the CDC.
According to KFF, a nonprofit group that researches health policy issues, the HHS secretary has the authority toappoint new members to the committee, and advisory committee members can be replaced at the discretion of the secretary.
There are currently 15 voting members of ACIP, but the committee can have up to 19. Committee members generally serve four-year terms, and several members terms are set to end in 2025, according to a committee roster. However, many will remain in place until 2028, unless Kennedy directs them to resign.
There are two possible outcomes, according to Dorit Reiss, a vaccine policy researcher at the University of California Law San Francisco: Kennedy might persuade Weldon, the director of CDC, to disregard ACIP recommendations, or he might replace ACIP members with anti-vaccine activists who make recommendations that the CDC accepts. The CDC director is not required to sign off on the committee s recommendations, but usually does.
Dr. Sean O Leary, chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Infectious Diseases and a nonvoting member of ACIP, said that even if there s a shake-up at ACIP and the CDC makes new recommendations against certain vaccines parents may still choose to vaccinate their children. States are not required to follow the recommendations, but most do.
Although this stuff can and will have an impact, most parents, I think, are still going to listen to the recommendation of their child s pediatrician, O Leary said. When we re talking about childhood vaccines, parents want to do what s best for their kids, and politics aside, that matters a lot more.
Reiss noted, however, that ACIP s recommendations have direct implications for insurance and which vaccines are covered.
Under the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies are required to cover vaccines that ACIP recommends.
For example, if the committee requests against giving children DTaP, or recommends against giving them at the ages they are now, those won t be covered by insurance, she said, referring to the vaccine for diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (whooping cough).Insurers could decide to cover them anyway, she added, but that ll be up to them.
Federal funds
Experts also expressed concerns about Kenndy s influence over the allocation of federal funds.
The Section 317 program, for example, is a grant managed by the CDC that provides funding to states and local health agencies to deliver vaccines. Public health departments apply for grants through the CDC.
He could make vaccines more difficult to get paid for, said Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccine expert at Children s Hospital of Philadelphia. He could make them less available.
Offit and other experts also said they re concerned about Kennedy s influence over new vaccine approvals and whether he could slow the approval process down.
He could also direct new research into existing vaccines, such as the polio shot, creating the appearance of potential issues with the vaccines and fostering public distrust, experts say.
Trump picked Dr. Marty Makary, a pancreatic surgeon at Johns Hopkins University, to lead the FDA. It s unclear how Makary would operate in the position, but he hasrecently made comments defending Kennedy. A Trump transition spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Offit, also a member of the FDA s vaccine advisory committee, said he s concerned that Kennedy could continue to spread misinformation about vaccines, which could cause parents to rethink vaccinating their children.
If you look at polls now, there s clearly been an erosion in trust in vaccines and vaccine safety, he said. Now he ll have a bigger platform. He s the head of the most important public health agency, he said, referring to Kennedy.
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