In the 18 days since Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was sworn in as secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, his department has postponed or canceled two major vaccine advisory committee meetings, he’s pledged to investigate the childhood vaccine schedule and he downplayed the seriousness of a measles outbreak that’s resulted in the first death from the disease in this country in a decade.
Citing those moves and others – including an opinion piece from Kennedy on the measles response published by Fox News Sunday – Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, sent a letter demanding the secretary clarify his “intentions regarding vaccine policy.”
Kennedy wrote in his op-ed about the measles outbreak that “all parents should consult with their healthcare providers to understand their options to get the MMR [measles, mumps, rubella] vaccine,” adding that “the decision to vaccinate is a personal one.
“Vaccines not only protect individual children from measles, but also contribute to community immunity, protecting those who are unable to be vaccinated due to medical reasons,” Kennedy wrote.
It was a stronger statement on vaccination than Kennedy, a prominent anti-vaccine advocate, had personally made so far, but stopped short of explicitly recommending vaccination amid the deadly outbreak — something his predecessors at HHS did during previous measles emergencies.
Kennedy’s statement on measles vaccination also appeared in the piece after a paragraph emphasizing treatment, such as vitamin A, for people who are sick.
Warren, in her letter, noted Kennedy’s op-ed “failed to include a strong call for vaccination,” instead claiming that “good nutrition remains a best defense against most chronic and infectious diseases.”
“Do you believe good nutrition is a better defense against measles than the MMR vaccine?” Warren wrote.
The senator, a member of the Senate finance committee, one of two that grilled Kennedy over his history of anti-vaccine views and financial interest in vaccine litigation during his confirmation hearings, also asked the secretary whether he would “change course and tell American parents to vaccinate their children to protect against measles.”
“Yes or no?” Warren wrote.
The senator’s questions also covered Kennedy’s plans for the vaccine advisory committees to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and US Food and Drug Administration, whose meetings were postponed or canceled, as well as his intentions to investigate the childhood vaccine schedule and reevaluation of a government contract with vaccine maker Moderna to develop a potential vaccine against bird flu.
“The mission of the agency you lead is ‘to enhance the health and well-being of all Americans,’ ” Warren wrote. “You are already failing to do so – and you must reverse course immediately.”
She asked for a response from Kennedy by March 10.