Robert F. Kennedy Jr. questions vaccine safety amid measles surge
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Health and Human Services Secretary (Photo: Getty Images)
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. continues to cast doubt on vaccines, falsely claiming the measles shot provides only short-term immunity, reports NBC News.
In February 2025, longtime anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was confirmed as US Secretary of Health and Human Services after a narrow Senate vote — 53 in favor, 47 against.
His appointment raised immediate concerns in the medical community, given his history of promoting conspiracy theories, such as linking vaccines to autism and comparing immunization efforts to the Holocaust. Even members of his own family have publicly condemned his stance, calling it dangerous and misinformed.
Now, amid the largest measles outbreak in the US since 2019, Kennedy is again fueling vaccine skepticism.
In a CBS News interview, he claimed, "We’re always going to have measles, no matter what happens, as the vaccine wanes very quickly," and added, "Right now we don’t know the risks of many of these products because they’re not safety tested."
Medical experts were quick to refute his claims.
"We eliminated measles from this country. That could never happen if immunity waned," said Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
He explained that two doses of the MMR vaccine provide lifelong protection by stimulating the immune system to create long-lasting memory cells.
Falling vaccination rates and rising outbreaks
As of April 2025, there have been 668 confirmed measles cases in the US, including two child deaths. The outbreak began in a Mennonite community in Texas, where vaccination rates are low.
Despite the surge, Kennedy continues to argue that "people should get the measles vaccine, but the government should not be mandating those."
Meanwhile, experts are sounding the alarm over declining vaccination coverage. A recent study cited by NBC News suggests that measles immunization rates among children under age 5 may be as low as 71%, far below the 92% target — measles vaccination rates among US children fall dangerously low, risking resurgence.
Dr. Benjamin Rader of Boston Children’s Hospital warned that this drop is especially dangerous in the most vulnerable age group, and that official CDC estimates may miss the full scope of the issue due to reliance on school entry records.
Dr. William Moss of Johns Hopkins also criticized Kennedy’s use of international comparisons, noting that "to say Europe has more cases over one year than we’ve had in three months this year — it’s just a false comparison."
As vaccination rates continue to drop and measles cases climb, Kennedy’s rhetoric risks fueling a public health crisis that could have been prevented.
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