Conspiracy theories should not influence public health.
However, under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., America has taken a dangerous turn. His anti-vaccine campaign undermines years of progress and leaves the country—and the world—at risk of disaster if the next pandemic occurs.
The situation escalated when President Donald J. Trump abruptly fired—at Kennedy’s request—the newly appointed CDC director, Susan Monarez, leading to a mass exodus of senior CDC scientists. Among these officials was Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, the director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.
Daskalakis warned that “interference by RFK Jr. … threatens [s] the lives of the youngest Americans and pregnant people.”
Political considerations, rather than scientific integrity, are influencing policy.
Vaccine skepticism poses a serious threat. Immunization shields millions from diseases like measles, polio, and COVID-19. Further, eroding public trust now leaves us dangerously unprepared for future threats.
As U.S. leadership in global health diminishes, the consequences will extend worldwide, especially in regions where America once led vaccination efforts and outbreak responses.
Episodes of eccentricity and misinformation further damage Kennedy’s credibility. Having claimed that a worm once “got into my brain and ate a portion of it and then died,” his credibility is questionable at best.
When such a figure influences health policy, the stakes are too high.
In the District of Columbia, the concern is palpable.
D.C. Health Director Dr. LaQuandra Nesbitt recently warned, “The deliberate destruction of trust in America’s public health workforce puts lives at risk.”
That warning doesn’t come from a political pundit—it’s from a local health official on the frontline.
RFK Jr. is an embarrassing stain on the legacies of his Uncle Jack (former President John F. Kennedy), Ted (former Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy), and Bobby (former U.S. Attorney General and New York Sen. Robert F. Kennedy), his father.
America must restore science as the basis of health. Letting Kennedy’s anti-vaccine agenda influence policy is dangerous—and potentially deadly.
If we don’t restore confidence and capability now, we risk not only our health security but also global resilience. The world is not only watching, but also counting on us to lead.
(Reprinted from the Washington Informer)
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