(NewsNation) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr.‘s potential leadership of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) presents clear risks to the country’s overall health, according to an infectious disease expert at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.
“I think this is an irresponsible pick,” said Dr. Amesh Adalja. “RFK Jr. can only be seen as a destroyer of health — not somebody who is going to promote health.”
Adalja pointed to Kennedy’s views on vaccines in particular while criticizing his resume in public health.
“If he can be someone who questions vaccines, who smears vaccines, who lies about vaccines — that tells you that he’s really trying to go after one of humankind’s greatest achievements. And to me, that’s not somebody that you want to be in power to be able to wield the force of government,” Adalja said.
Florida doctor accused of deadly hit-and-run of man in wheelchair
Kennedy has pushed back against critics who say he has anti-vaccine views. During a June 23 town hall hosted by WMUR-TV, Kennedy said if he were president, he would mandate prelicensing safety trials for vaccines and “allow parents to make of their minds about whether they want to use vaccines for their children.”
For Adalja, however, that’s mostly empty rhetoric.
“Whatever (RFK Jr.) may say about other things, his cognitive approach to vaccines colors everything else. This is how this man thinks — or doesn’t think,” he said.
RFK Jr. became fixated on a belief that many vaccines were not safe about 15 years ago. He’s since emerged as one of the leading voices in the anti-vaccine movement, and his work has been described by public health experts and even members of his own family as misleading and dangerous.
How will Trump’s tariffs impact everyday Americans?
“(RFK Jr.) is not open to rationality,” Adalja said. “This is a fixed idea in his mind, and I don’t think that someone susceptible to that style of nonthinking is someone you want making decisions about any kind of anything regarding health.”
