Opinion | RFK Jr is a threat to public health
As seen in volume 114, issue 1 of The Collegian
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a name that has only grown in infamy since being given the position of the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services. What is scary about Kennedy is not just his spread of skepticism and misinformation, but the amount of people that believe his rhetoric.
Kennedy has repeatedly promoted discredited claims linking vaccines to autism and other health conditions—a claim that has been repeatedly debunked by the scientific community. Despite this, his anti-vaccine rhetoric continues, blanketed in the language of “freedom” and “choice.” This skepticism and misinformation being put out erodes public trust in medicine that has saved millions of lives. Instead of making progress in health, we are moving backwards. We are seeing outbreaks of measles—a now preventable disease because of the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine. Children are dying because of this belief in claims made by someone who is neither a doctor nor any kind of healthcare professional, for that matter.
Kennedy has also spread conspiracy theories about COVID-19, suggesting that the virus may have been engineered as a bioweapon and that lockdowns were a form of government control rather than a public health necessity. These claims are not supported by credible evidence, but they have gained traction among people who feel alienated or distrustful of institutions. Instead of encouraging informed debate or critical thinking, Kennedy exploits that distrust, presenting wild speculation as fact and casting scientists and doctors as villains.
Public health depends on trust. People must believe that vaccines are safe, that medical advice is based on evidence, and that public health measures are meant to protect, not control. When someone in a position of influence spreads lies or undermines expert consensus, that trust is eroded. The result? More illness, more preventable deaths, and a population increasingly divided by fear and misinformation.
Supporters may argue that Kennedy is simply “asking questions” or “challenging authority.” But there is a clear difference between healthy skepticism and deliberate distortion of the truth. Public health is not a political game; it’s about protecting lives. How many more children are going to have to die from preventable illnesses before people begin to realize the discredibility of Kennedy’s claims?
For someone who claims to care so much about Americans and their health, Kennedy has done nothing to stop the cuts Trump has made to medical research all across the country. At a time when science should unite us, figures like RFK Jr. create division and doubt. That’s not leadership; that’s recklessness. He is being reckless with the lives of millions of Americans.
America deserves leaders who respect truth, listen to experts, and value human life over political theater. Kennedy’s record on public health shows that he is not one of them.