Today marks one year since Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was confirmed as Health and Human Services Secretary, and his first year has been a disaster for our public health system. Since his confirmation, RFK Jr. installed his hand-picked panel of vaccine skeptics, actively undermined decades of established medical science, gutted world-leading  research programs, including over $500 million in vaccine research, and sowed doubt among parents and families regarding the safety of widely-accepted medicine — including by  falsely claiming that Tylenol causes autism and calling women who take it during pregnancy “irresponsible.” And yet, RFK Jr. himself has said, “I don’t think people should be taking medical advice from me.” 

Most recently, the U.S. has experienced a record number of measles cases under RFK Jr.’s leadership, with outbreaks worsening across the country. He has downplayed the severity of the measles outbreaks and spread several lies about the efficacy of the measles vaccine. More than 900 measles cases in the U.S. have been reported this year alone, and the U.S. is now expected to lose its measles elimination status if it fails to prove that it can stop the spread of measles. Meanwhile, Democrats are holding RFK Jr. accountable for his lies, with Senators Angela Alsobrooks and Ron Wyden releasing a new report today that details RFK Jr’s disastrous tenure. 

In response, DNC Rapid Response Director Kendall Witmer released the following statement: 

“Donald Trump and RFK Jr. promised to ‘Make America Healthy Again.’ Instead, during his first year, RFK Jr. has worked tirelessly to turn the clock back decades as he undermines established medical science, cuts lifesaving research, and puts the health and safety of children and families at risk. He has undermined Americans’ ability to access vaccines and subverted life-saving vaccine advancements. RFK Jr. has gambled with our public health system, sowing doubt and confusion among parents and families and exposing communities to dangerous outbreaks. RFK Jr. has no business making decisions about Americans’ health care — he’s said so himself.”

During his confirmation hearing, RFK Jr. affirmed that “I’ll support vaccines” and “vaccines have a critical role in health care.” However, since he was confirmed, he has taken numerous steps to undermine access to life-saving vaccines. First, RFK Jr. limited who can get COVID-19 vaccines by revoking emergency use status of the vaccines. Then, his hand-picked CDC vaccine advisory panel voted to revise its years-old recommendations to give the MMRV vaccine to children under 4 years old. At the end of last year, the same panel voted to end the universal recommendation for Hepatitis B vaccines for newborns. Last month, the CDC upended the childhood vaccination schedule by reducing the recommended number of diseases American children are vaccinated against from 17 to 11. And as recently as this week, the FDA notified the drug company Moderna that it would not review its new mRNA flu vaccine, which has the potential to reduce the risk of severe illness and save lives. 

RFK Jr. and Trump have similarly spread unsubstantiated claims linking Tylenol use during pregnancy to autism in children. They blamed pregnant women for complications and erroneously warned them not to use Tylenol, instead encouraging them to “tough it out,” despite experts saying that Tylenol is the safest option during pregnancy.

Former CDC officials have sounded the alarm on RFK Jr.’s handling of HHS, saying that he has denied scientific evidence behind vaccines; spread dangerous misinformation at HHS; directed CDC officials to “only work with the political appointees” and “not to speak or work with the career scientists”; and said that CDC employees were horrible people who were “killing children.”

Nearly 60% of Americans disapprove of RFK Jr.’s actions as health secretary, and a new poll found that nearly 90% of Americans believe that vaccines are essential for public health. Further, 60% are concerned that vaccines are becoming more inaccessible for those who want them as a result of changes in recommendations from the federal government.