RFK: A Public Health Disaster in Progress

A guest piece by two public health scholars to keep you informed on how to stay safe and healthy in an anti-science Trump regime

At Let’s Address This, we periodically publish articles by experts in their respective fields as it intersects with human rights. Healthcare is a human right, and this piece, authored by two nationally recognized public health experts, Pari & Eve, co-creators of Repro Ready, addresses the critical issue of our healthcare in an anti-science regime. Before diving in to their article, please join me, subscribe to their newsletter, and help to advance science-based health policy.

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Kennedy, left, stands with participants at a February 2019 rally at the state Capitol in Olympia, Wash., to oppose a bill that would remove parents' ability to opt their school-age children out of the combined measles, mumps and rubella vaccine.Ted S. Warren / AP file

A Public Health Disaster In Progress

RFK isn’t just failing as Health Secretary, he’s failing Americans. Since taking over HHS, he has weaponized his position to spread misinformation, undermine decades of public health progress, and inject chaos into a system that millions rely on to survive. Unfortunately, corporate media is failing to keep up, or hold him accountable. As public health experts, we’ve spent a combined three decades on demystifying healthcare and healthcare policy. There’s no time more important than now to ensure the steps we take going forward protect our health and safety, and the health and safety of those we love. Let’s Address This.

Gutting Expertise and Sabotaging Vaccine Policy

RFK’s first act of incompetence (though far from his last!) was firing all 17 members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the panel responsible for guiding vaccine safety and usage in the U.S. He replaced them with a handful of cherry-picked anti-vaxxers. At their last meeting, this ideologically-driven committee voted to remove thimerosal from flu vaccines, despite it being proven safe for years, and spun it as a “huge win.” Next, they are targeting COVID-19 and hepatitis B vaccines (shots that save thousands of lives every year) all to fulfill a political agenda over science.

RFK is so giddy at the thought of advancing his own agenda, in the meantime, he has restricted access to COVID-19 vaccines, directly contradicting the American Academy of Pediatrics’ guidance that all children six months and older should be vaccinated. Anti-vax activists are pushing to limit hepatitis B shots for newborns, erasing decades of progress and putting babies’ lives at risk. Ironic for the party that claims to be “pro-life,” no? As public health experts, we can say without hesitation that there is no other way to describe these decisions than gross negligence. RFK and his anti-vax squad are ignoring decades of rigorous research—research the U.S. spent billions on—just to push their ideology. Plain and simple.

States Are Scrambling to Clean Up His Mess While They Still Can

RFK’s incompetence has forced states to pick up the public health pieces that are left. Democratic-led states like California, Colorado, New York, and Massachusetts are creating their own systems to protect residents and preserve vaccine access. Colorado has gone so far as to allow pharmacists to administer COVID vaccines without prescriptions and to consult independent scientific sources rather than the politically compromised HHS. We love to see it because this approach highlights just how far federal leadership has veered off the rails.

RFK’s incompetence is fracturing national consensus. Public trust in vaccines is eroding because the federal government is now led by someone whose obsession with ideology (and autism) outweighs science, evidence, or human lives.

The Broader Threat to Americans

Infectious diseases are contagious, and RFK’s policies increase the risk of that for everyone. Beyond vaccines though, he has also promoted dangerous, unscientific claims about common drugs, misrepresented research on childhood illness, and attacked evidence-based care for LGBTQ+ youth. Florida is already following his anti-science lead by ending school vaccine mandates, putting kids in danger across the state.

Ultimately, RFK is a disaster. His actions are killing trust, endangering lives, and threatening decades of public health progress. He should resign immediately before more Americans get sick—or worse. National medical organizations, the Senate Finance Committee, and his own family agree. In the meantime, know that you can rely on us to provide accurate, timely, and actionable steps to better protect your health and safety. Join us, and let’s get to work.

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Conclusion

Qasim here. I’m grateful to Pari and Eve for their expertise, excellence, and commitment to science based policies. At the end of the day, this isn’t just about one man’s incompetence—it’s about the lives of millions who depend on science, evidence, and honesty from their leaders. Public health cannot survive in the hands of conspiracy theorists and opportunists. RFK’s reckless agenda has already eroded trust, fractured consensus, and put the most vulnerable at risk. We—as citizens, advocates, and neighbors—must step up to defend science, protect truth, and fight for a healthcare system rooted in justice. Because our lives depend on it.