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By Jordan King
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Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s previous comments about vaccines are making the rounds on social media ahead of his Senate confirmation hearing on Wednesday
Newsweek reached out to Kennedy via email for comment.
Why It Matters
President Donald Trump's decision to tap Kennedy as his secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has been controversial for several reasons, including his criticism of vaccines.
Read More on Politics
Kennedy has said he is not against all vaccines but is critical of vaccinations. He is on leave as the chair of the anti-vaccine group Children's Health Defense and has repeated the debunked claim that vaccines cause autism. He also told podcaster Lex Fridman that there are no safe and effective vaccines, breaking from the overwhelming scientific consensus.
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He has said he would not ban vaccines if confirmed as HHS secretary, telling NBC News in November 2024 that "if vaccines are working for somebody, I'm not going to take them away."
"People ought to have choice and ought to be informed by the best information, so I'm going to make sure that scientific safety studies and efficacies are out there and people can make individual assessments about whether that product is going to be good for them," Kennedy said.
What To Know
A clip of Kennedy on CNN in March 2024 posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday by user The Intellectualist has been viewed 2.9 million times. During the interview, Kennedy denied saying there were "no" safe and effective vaccines.
Journalist Kasie Hunt then plays a clip from Fridman's podcast, in which Kennedy says: "What I'm saying is that none of 72 vaccines has ever been tested in a safety study pre-licensing."
When pushed on other comments about vaccinating children, Kennedy said: "I had three vaccines when I was a kid, and I was fully compliant. My kids got 72. The current recommendations are, I think, around 77." He then clarifies that he means "72 doses of 16 vaccines."
On Monday, infectious diseases doctor Neil Stone shared a chart on X tracking measles cases before and after vaccines were introduced. Stone wrote: "Someone should show this chart to Kennedy at his confirmation and ask him whether he thinks vaccines are effective."
He also shared a post that Kennedy wrote in January 2023 about the HPV vaccine. In it, Kennedy shared a link to a Children's Health Defense article with the caption: "Gardasil HPV vaccines appears to be increasing the risk of cervical cancer in vaccinated groups just as COVID vaccines raise the risk of COVID."
Stone wrote: "I hope this blatant lie is brought up at his confirmation hearing HPV vaccine PREVENTS cancer. Literally the opposite of what this man says is true."
Some people have backed Kennedy ahead of his confirmation hearing, including the Dallas-based musician Five Times August.
The singer wrote Monday on X: "The same people who let the government force them inside their house for two years, smother their mouth via mask, and jam an arbitrary number of poison needles in their arm are now apparently worried RFK Jr is going to use government force to encourage eating a salad."
Market researcher and political commentator Anna Matson posted a thread with the following introduction: "Be prepared. Every single democrat will say RFK Jr. is not qualified, but they won't tell you the truth. Here is everything RFK Jr has done in his career that makes him fully qualified to run HHS."
What Happens Next
Kennedy will appear before a Senate panel on Wednesday, first at the Senate Committee on Finance, where he must receive a majority of senators to be confirmed as HHS secretary.
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