Anti-vaccine rhetoric from RFK is a profound threat to public health
Robert F Kennedy Jr is a name that resonates across the world. But it is not just because of his famous lineage that RFK Jr has built his name, but also his notorious role as a public health agitator. Photo: AP/Stefan Jeremiah
It’s election year in the US, and while economics, border control and foreign policy are a core focus for many, there’s one issue that may be even more pressing - public health.
Among the popular voices in this politically charged environment is that of Robert F Kennedy Jr, a figure whose influence extends far beyond inflammatory political rhetoric, into one of the most harmful areas of the online disinformation landscape, the anti-vaccine movement.
Kennedy’s endorsement of Donald Trump, coupled with whispers of a significant public health role in a second Trump Administration, should alarm anyone who appreciates the role that vaccination has played in the eradication of illness, suffering, and death over the last 200 years.
Robert F Kennedy Jr is a name that resonates across the world. His uncle, none other than John F Kennedy, was the first American President to visit Ireland during his term in office, and many Irish people have great respect for the Kennedy dynasty. But it is not just because of his famous lineage that RFK Jr has built his name, but also his notorious role as a public health agitator.
For two decades, Kennedy has been a leading figure in the anti-vaccine movement, propagating dangerous claims that are not supported by scientific evidence. His influence has been so profound that a report titled "The Disinformation Dozen" identified him as one of the top 12 individuals responsible for a majority of anti-vaccine content circulating online.
Kennedy has repeatedly claimed that he is not an "anti-vaxxer" when pressed on the issue, but his actions and rhetoric tell a different story.
He has persistently spread misinformation, suggesting, for example, that the HPV vaccine causes more harm than good, vaccines don’t get adequately tested, and of course, vaccines cause autism — a falsehood that originated with the discredited and fraudulent work of Andrew Wakefield in the early 2000s (who Kennedy celebrates as a hero).
Kennedy’s claims are not just unsubstantiated, they are demonstrably harmful, occasionally gravely so. His organisation, Children's Health Defense, has been at the forefront of the anti-vaccine movement over the last 20 years.
One particularly tragic consequence of this influence was during the 2019 Samoan measles crisis, where a measles outbreak claimed the lives of 83 children. In response to a nursing error in which the MMR vaccine was negligently mixed with an anaesthetic agent, two children died.
Kennedy and Children’s Health Defense capitalised on this by promoting false information about the harms of MMR, doubling down when challenged on the matter. The nurses got five years in prison for their errors, but Kennedy walks free and continues to cause harm through his rhetoric. This incident underscores the potential of information as a vector of harm, especially when it reaches vulnerable populations.
Moreover, the anti-vaccine movement does not exist in isolation. It is part of a broader phenomenon referred to as "belief clustering", where individuals who subscribe to one conspiracy theory or false idea are more likely to believe in others, creating a dangerous web of interconnected falsehoods.
Recently, Kennedy illustrated this in a post on X, promoting the incorrect idea that reducing saturated fat intake has harmed public health — a theory popular among certain nutrition and alternative medicine circles, best evidenced in the meteoric rise in popularity of the “Carnivore Diet”.
This clustering of beliefs is more than curiosity about one’s health. It is a public health threat that is flourishing online, and by extension, among the general public.
Those who reject the scientific consensus on vaccines are often the same individuals who question the safety of medical interventions more broadly, along with the legitimacy and integrity of public health professionals and institutions.
This extant skepticism is fertile ground for the spread of further misinformation and radical ideas, especially in today’s social media landscape, where ideas can gain rapid traction and reach millions in a matter of days, hours, or minutes.
The implications of this are profound. It erodes public trust in science, undermines public health efforts, with the kindling of such distrust well in place after the covid-19 pandemic.
If such beliefs and frameworks of thought relating to health are to influence public policy, the consequences could be disastrous, potentially reversing not just decades, but centuries of progress in controlling infectious diseases.
What happens in the US inevitably trickles down to Ireland, Europe, and beyond, and thus we needn’t be voting to be concerned.
One might say that Kennedy’s anti-vaccine advocacy is simply confined to vague public statements, and that he’s not “anti-vax”, as he claimed himself when pressed on the issue by Congress last year.
The reality is that he has taken his anti-vaccine crusade to disturbingly personal levels, admitting to stopping parents on hiking trails — complete strangers who he targets because they have babies — to urge them not to vaccinate their children. This behaviour reflects a level of conviction that would make me quite comfortable in concluding that Kennedy really is, dare I say it, anti-vaccine.
This anecdote is emblematic of the anti-vaccine movement’s broader strategy, which often involves fear-mongering, personal confrontation, and emotional manipulation, as opposed to rigorous, evidence-based reasoning.
Parents are a vulnerable cohort, as every parent wants to do well by their children, and when you have someone as powerful as Kennedy telling you that you may be causing them harm, it’s understandable how one that was previously ambivalent may decide to avoid vaccination.
This underscores the insidious nature of misinformation and how its interaction with real world decisions can drive sensible individuals to take actions that could have harmful consequences for the most vulnerable in our population.
Vaccines represent one of the most significant triumphs of modern medicine, so much so that they are a victim of their own success. The effectiveness of vaccination has made many diseases that were once lethal mere distant memories.
This produces a paradox, whereby vaccine effectiveness is questioned because they work, as evidenced by questions such as “why would I vaccinate my child against a disease that hasn’t killed anyone in years?!”.
In 1980, the World Health Organisation declared Smallpox to be eradicated following an intensive global vaccination campaign. In its prime, Smallpox killed 300 million people in the 20th century alone, yet now exists only as an interesting historical anecdote, thanks in no small part to vaccination.
Measles, another highly contagious and deadly disease, saw a 73% reduction in deaths between 2000 and 2018, thanks to global vaccination efforts. Vaccination has prevented over 21 million deaths during this period.
Despite this, measles has had a resurgence in recent years, with increasing frequency of outbreaks and reduced vaccine coverage. In fact, per the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, Ireland has the lowest rate of measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine uptake in Western Europe.
Ultimately, these are not just statistics and loose medical theories, these are lives saved and suffering avoided, and that remains at stake. While political debates involve a diversity of opinions, as it should be in a democracy, the facts relating to vaccines are clear. Vaccines save lives.
- Dr Gary McGowan is a medical doctor, physiotherapist and fitness trainer from Co Kerry. His multidisciplinary expertise allows him to shed a unique perspective on topics related to health, nutrition, and medicine. For more of his work, see triagemethod.com, and his Instagram page drgarymcgowan.
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