On Nov. 18, just four days after President-elect Donald Trump announced that he was going to name Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Washington, D.C.-based American Public Health Association (APHA) publicly challenged the choice, stating that Kennedy, by virtue of numerous past false statements about vaccines, should be disqualified from holding the position. The HHS Secretary oversees the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Institutes of Health, and Food and Drug Administration, among the federal agencies under the HHS umbrella with involvement in policies touching on vaccines and vaccination.
The APHA expressed its concerns in a public statement that was unusual, but that reflected the concerns around the unusual appointment. The association, on its website, notes that “APHA members come from all areas of public health. They work both within and outside governmental organizations and educational institutions and are in every region of the country. Our issues include those affecting personal and environmental health, federal and state funding for health programs, pollution control, chronic and infectious diseases, a smoke-free society, professional public health education and tools to help consumers live healthier lives.”
The press release began thus: “The selection by President-elect Donald Trump of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services raises serious concerns for the health of the American people. To effectively lead our nation’s top health agency, a candidate should have the proper training, management skills, temperament and the trust of the public. Unfortunately, Mr. Kennedy fails on all fronts. HHS, which consists of more than 80,000 federal employees and oversees everything from drug, vaccine and food safety to medical research and Medicare and Medicaid should be led by someone with considerable management skills and the medical or public health training to truly understand the wide array of health issues involved,” the association stated.
Further, the APHA stated, “Kennedy’s past statements and views on vaccines alone should disqualify him from consideration. He has stated that “there’s no vaccine that is safe and effective” and touted misinformation claiming that vaccines cause autism. A serious candidate for this position would follow the decades of real-world evidence that shows that vaccines are safe and prevent as many as 5 million deaths each year.”
The association noted that “For more than 150 years, the American Public Health Association has championed science-based research and advocacy efforts to improve the health of all Americans. We have a history of working closely with top federal officials in both Republican and Democrat administrations, including members of the first Trump administration. Unfortunately, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has demonstrated a consistent lack of willingness to listen, learn and act in the best interest of the health of the American people. He was identified in 2021 as a member of the ‘Disinformation Dozen’ that produced 65 percent of the shares of anti-vaccine misinformation on social media platforms that contributed to the public’s mistrust in science and likely led to morbidity and mortality.”
And, the association added, “The American people deserve better than Mr. Kennedy. We need an HHS secretary under the Trump administration who will listen to science, not discredit it. We don’t expect to agree with all policy decisions of the new administration, but we will continue to work on behalf of the American people to improve their health by advocating for the best science-based health policies and programs,” the association added. “Achieving optimal health regardless of race, ethnicity, gender identity, age, economic status or geographic residence will remain our chief objective. We urge President-elect Trump to select a qualified health leader that is properly trained and has the management skills to be the nation’s top health official. We look forward to working with the incoming administration to advance effective, evidence-based approaches to improve the health of the nation.”
