Kennedy's confirmation will breed more harm than good, public health experts say
Many public health experts said their fears were realized Thursday when Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was confirmed as health and human services secretary.
Many public health experts said their fears were realized Thursday when Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was confirmed as health and human services secretary.
Kennedy, who has a background in environmental law, is the founder of a prominent anti-vaccine activist group that has bought numerous lawsuits against federal health agencies. He has also written several books questioning the safety and effectiveness of routine vaccinations.
Only one Republican member of the GOP-controlled Senate, Mitch McConnell, of Kentucky, voted alongside Democrats in unanimously opposing Kennedy’s confirmation. In a statement, McConnell, a polio survivor, pointed to Kennedy’s “record of trafficking in dangerous conspiracy theories and eroding trust in public health institutions.”
At Senate hearings last month, Kennedy said his priority as HHS Secretary would be to reverse rising rates of chronic diseases in the U.S., such as diabetes, cancer, asthma and obesity.
Public health experts said they agreed with that goal broadly, but felt that having Kennedy at the helm of the country’s largest and most powerful health agency would do more harm than good.
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