The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a nearly $2 trillion agency, managing around 25% of the federal budget and employing more than 90,000 federal workers. This year, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent anti-vaccine activist with a 40-year history of promoting pseudoscience conspiracy theories, was selected as Health and Human Services secretary.
The very man who blamed school shootings on antidepressants, belittled autistic children, claimed that government employees want to mass poison the American public, said 5G Wi-Fi is used to ‘control our behavior,’ promotes raw milk, and allegedly bungee corded a decapitated whale to his minivan, currently carries the paramount responsibility of protecting and preserving the health of all Americans.
As HHS secretary, RFK’s lack of a medical degree isn’t unprecedented, as MDs historically have been more of an exception than a rule for the position. The problem instead lies in the fact that he prioritizes his own agenda instead of the health of Americans, claims to prioritize empirical research while his actions say otherwise, and spreads misinformation and lies, yet he was still appointed to a vital position in which his incompetence can easily endanger citizens.
RFK’s blatant lack of qualification was overshadowed by his assertion that he is not indebted to Big Pharma. He promises that he will “clean up corruption” and save Americans who are being “mass poisoned by big pharma and big food.”
Yes, big pharma IS a big problem. The price of critical medications – inhalers, critical cancer drugs, and insulin – should not be hiked up year after year while manufacturing costs stay the same.
But, ignoring the importance of having leaders who actually have experience and relevant qualifications could put Americans’ health at risk. RFK’s unethical background and inexperience were overlooked by the universally appealing idea that the HHS secretary would no longer be a puppet for big business. However, in return, he spouts unsupported lies, sets impossible deadlines for research studies, and appoints his anti-vaxx friend with along history of medical misconduct to act as a senior data analyst for the HHS. In doing so, RFK negatively influences and endangers the impressionable general public. The position of HHS secretary – or any government official – should be held by someone who is not only for the people, but is also qualified enough to put truth and the well-being of American citizens before their own beliefs.
Despite years of peer-reviewed evidence, RFK is adamant that vaccines cause autism. He recently forced out Dr. Peter Marks, the Food and Drug Administration’s top vaccine regulator, because, according to a spokesperson at HHS, Marks did not “want to get behind restoring science to its golden standard and promoting radical transparency.” This calls into question what RFK’s team thinks the “golden standard” and “fact-based research” really mean, since they kicked out the person who has fortified these standards for decades. It was literally his job.
Kennedy even stated, “What we don’t really need at HHS is more medical expertise. What we need is expertise on decoupling the agency from institutional corruption. Because it’s the corruption that has distorted science.” While there is a level of truth to this statement, the effective way to counter corruption is not with pseudo-science, but instead with measurable, actionable, and well-supported measures. With his recent actions, though, Kennedy may very well be the corruption that is “distorting the science.”
In his resignation letter, Marks wrote that RFK undermining confidence in vaccines is “irresponsible, detrimental to public health, and a clear danger to our nation’s health, safety, and security.” He added he had been willing to work with Kennedy to address any concerns about vaccine safety and transparency, but it was “clear that truth and transparency are not desired by the secretary, but rather he wishes subservient confirmation of his misinformation and lies.”
Furthermore, Kevin Griffis, the previous director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s office of communications, resigned because he believes that “public health policy must always be guided by facts and not fantasy.” Rather than seeking guidance about how to combat the measles outbreak in Texas and New Mexico from the world-leading epidemiologists and virologists he oversees, Kennedy listened to fringe voices to reinforce his personal beliefs.. He even promoted various unproven treatments for measles.
Griffis wrote, “In my final weeks at the CDC, I watched as career infectious-disease experts were tasked with spending precious hours searching medical literature in vain for data to support Kennedy’s preferred treatments. All this misdirection is a waste of federal dollars that will do nothing to control the outbreak. It also could cost lives.”
Because someone completely unqualified to lead health-related matters has been appointed to that position, many qualified professionals are convinced that public health is approaching a steep decline. Prior to RFK’s Senate confirmation, more than 15,000 physicians and 87 health organizations urged the Senate to vote no on his appointment, saying he would “significantly undermine” public health. As long as RFK remains in his current position, scientific progress will slow to a crawl, and the health of our country will be at risk.
