Distrust of vaccines
During his Senate confirmation hearings, RFK Jr refused to back down from his belief that vaccines cause autism.
“Will you reassure mothers unequivocally and without qualification that the measles and hepatitis B vaccines do not cause autism?” asked Senator Bill Cassidy, a physician who is the chairperson of the Senate committee on health, education, labour and pensions. RFK Jr refused to give a yes or no answer, asking for data that showed that.
His belief is largely based on a discredited 1998 study of 12 children that suggested a link between the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism. The theory has been repeatedly debunked by numerous studies over the past two decades.
The concern is that with the reins of the US healthcare system, he could halt mandatory child vaccinations such as MMR.
“The consequence of all of that is the re-emergence of all diseases,” epidemiologist Salim Abdool Karim, a professor at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and Columbia University, told Bhekisisa. “Measles will probably be among the first because measles spreads very easily unless nearly everyone is vaccinated.”
False claims and financial gains
In 2023 RFK Jr posted on X that the Gardasil human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine “appears to be increasing the risk of cervical cancer” — the very thing that vaccine is meant to prevent. The post got 500,000 likes.
Studies have shown the vaccine can be up to 100% effective in preventing cervical cancer.
During the hearings, RFK Jr admitted he was collecting fees from suing the HPV vaccine manufacturer Gardasil — effectively giving him a financial stake in finding fault with vaccines, a huge conflict of interest. Later, he agreed to hand over any proceeds to his son.
Making a leap
In an interview with conservative podcaster Jordan Peterson, RFK Jr said toxins in the environment could be causing a rise in the number of people who identify as transgender, pointing to a 2010 study that showed a weedkiller, atrazine, can give male frogs male and female characteristics.
Michael Pepper, the director of the Institute for Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of Pretoria, says what we learn from studying other species doesn’t always apply to humans. But we can’t ignore it.
There could be a number of reasons people are expressing different gender identities, he says. That includes non-biological ones such as that society is more accepting now, which makes it easier for people to be themselves. Meanwhile, medical treatments such as surgery and hormones have made it easier for those who want to transition.
In the US under the Trump administration, at least some of that acceptance is being rolled back. In January he mandated that all federal employees remove their pronoun preferences from their email signatures and other forms, with a slew of other anti-trans executive orders.
Raw milk
In 2023, RFK Jr boasted he only drinks raw milk, claiming health benefits. Currently, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) site warns about the health dangers of raw milk — it can carry bacteria such as salmonella, listeria and E. coli, which cause food poisoning with symptoms including diarrhoea, nausea and fever and is particularly dangerous for young children and older adults.
The FDA strongly recommends pasteurisation, the process of heating milk to kill harmful bacteria and then cooling it quickly to keep it safe and fresh.
Raw milk consumption in the US is particularly dangerous now.
There has been a sharp rise in H5N1, the virus which leads to bird flu, detected in dairy farms across the US. One person died in January and dozens have been infected with the virus since 2024, mainly from close contact with infected animals. Researchers found the virus can survive in raw milk and are concerned about a potential human avian influenza pandemic.
‘Things can go terribly wrong’
David Spurrett, professor of philosophy of science at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, says politicians should stay in their lane.
“It is important that political officeholders not confuse the political mandate with being experts — when they don't, things can go terribly wrong,” he says. “When we tried that in South Africa — where the president and the minister of health were pushing their own views about the causes of HIV and Aids — the consequences were terrible.”
The health of the US could look a lot different in four years.
“I think we will have to see how much damage is done,” says Abdool Karim. “I think it will be hard to put Humpty Dumpty together again.”
** This article was updated at 7.12pm on February 13 to reflect RFK Jr’s confirmation as US health secretary, the number of bird flu cases in the US since initial publication and additional anti-trans mandates handed down by Trump.
RFK Jr is in. Is health in America on its way out?
Robert F Kennedy Jr has fought Big Pharma and Big Food, but he’s also spread dangerous misinformation about vaccines, fluoride and even HIV. Now he’s going to run the US health system
Image: Gage Skidmore/Flickr
On Thursday, the US Senate confirmed President Trump’s contentious pick for secretary of health and human services, Robert F Kennedy Jr.
Known as RFK Jr, he is the nephew of former US president John F Kennedy and the son of Robert F Kennedy, the former attorney-general and senator. A lifelong Democrat, he joined Trump in the run-up to the election, promising to “Make America Healthy Again”.
The role of US health secretary is much like South Africa’s health minister, with broad oversight of everything from health research and food and drug regulation to public health insurance programmes.
But RFK Jr is best known for his wild beliefs about health, including an anti-vaccine stance. He has claimed HIV is not the sole cause of Aids, that fluoride in water lowers IQ and that Covid-19 was bioengineered to spare Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people.
He’s also an environmental lawyer who took on agrichemical giant Monsanto. He was a supporter of abortion and has opposed US reliance on fossil fuels, saying it worsens climate change — policies at odds with the Trump administration. He continues to be aggressively critical of Big Pharma and Big Food, crusading against pharmaceutical advertising and ultra-processed food.
It’s that combination of misinformation and common sense that is so dangerous, says William Bird, director of Media Monitoring Africa.
“Misinformation with a touch of truth, it’s sufficient to sow doubt so that you no longer know what is real and what absolutely isn’t.”
Distrust of vaccines
During his Senate confirmation hearings, RFK Jr refused to back down from his belief that vaccines cause autism.
“Will you reassure mothers unequivocally and without qualification that the measles and hepatitis B vaccines do not cause autism?” asked Senator Bill Cassidy, a physician who is the chairperson of the Senate committee on health, education, labour and pensions. RFK Jr refused to give a yes or no answer, asking for data that showed that.
His belief is largely based on a discredited 1998 study of 12 children that suggested a link between the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism. The theory has been repeatedly debunked by numerous studies over the past two decades.
The concern is that with the reins of the US healthcare system, he could halt mandatory child vaccinations such as MMR.
“The consequence of all of that is the re-emergence of all diseases,” epidemiologist Salim Abdool Karim, a professor at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and Columbia University, told Bhekisisa. “Measles will probably be among the first because measles spreads very easily unless nearly everyone is vaccinated.”
False claims and financial gains
In 2023 RFK Jr posted on X that the Gardasil human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine “appears to be increasing the risk of cervical cancer” — the very thing that vaccine is meant to prevent. The post got 500,000 likes.
Studies have shown the vaccine can be up to 100% effective in preventing cervical cancer.
During the hearings, RFK Jr admitted he was collecting fees from suing the HPV vaccine manufacturer Gardasil — effectively giving him a financial stake in finding fault with vaccines, a huge conflict of interest. Later, he agreed to hand over any proceeds to his son.
Making a leap
In an interview with conservative podcaster Jordan Peterson, RFK Jr said toxins in the environment could be causing a rise in the number of people who identify as transgender, pointing to a 2010 study that showed a weedkiller, atrazine, can give male frogs male and female characteristics.
Michael Pepper, the director of the Institute for Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of Pretoria, says what we learn from studying other species doesn’t always apply to humans. But we can’t ignore it.
There could be a number of reasons people are expressing different gender identities, he says. That includes non-biological ones such as that society is more accepting now, which makes it easier for people to be themselves. Meanwhile, medical treatments such as surgery and hormones have made it easier for those who want to transition.
In the US under the Trump administration, at least some of that acceptance is being rolled back. In January he mandated that all federal employees remove their pronoun preferences from their email signatures and other forms, with a slew of other anti-trans executive orders.
Raw milk
In 2023, RFK Jr boasted he only drinks raw milk, claiming health benefits. Currently, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) site warns about the health dangers of raw milk — it can carry bacteria such as salmonella, listeria and E. coli, which cause food poisoning with symptoms including diarrhoea, nausea and fever and is particularly dangerous for young children and older adults.
The FDA strongly recommends pasteurisation, the process of heating milk to kill harmful bacteria and then cooling it quickly to keep it safe and fresh.
Raw milk consumption in the US is particularly dangerous now.
There has been a sharp rise in H5N1, the virus which leads to bird flu, detected in dairy farms across the US. One person died in January and dozens have been infected with the virus since 2024, mainly from close contact with infected animals. Researchers found the virus can survive in raw milk and are concerned about a potential human avian influenza pandemic.
‘Things can go terribly wrong’
David Spurrett, professor of philosophy of science at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, says politicians should stay in their lane.
“It is important that political officeholders not confuse the political mandate with being experts — when they don't, things can go terribly wrong,” he says. “When we tried that in South Africa — where the president and the minister of health were pushing their own views about the causes of HIV and Aids — the consequences were terrible.”
The health of the US could look a lot different in four years.
“I think we will have to see how much damage is done,” says Abdool Karim. “I think it will be hard to put Humpty Dumpty together again.”
** This article was updated at 7.12pm on February 13 to reflect RFK Jr’s confirmation as US health secretary, the number of bird flu cases in the US since initial publication and additional anti-trans mandates handed down by Trump.
This story was produced by the Bhekisisa Centre for Health Journalism. Sign up for the newsletter.
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