RFK Jr., the Only Kennedy Without a Shot in Him

By Joshua Yan April 2, 2025

On Feb. 13, despite disapproval from every Democrat in the Senate, Congress made an anti-vaxxer and medical myth propagator the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), putting him in charge of agencies that govern disease control, food safety and more for 340 million American citizens.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has an illustrious educational career in everything but public health. After being arrested and expelled twice at age 16 for marijuana possession, Kennedy, Jr. landed himself at Harvard,  where he continued his non-pursuit of public health knowledge by earning degrees in American history and literature, environmental law and political science. 

Admittedly, Kennedy led an impressive and noble career in environmental activism. He often represented Indigenous populations in matters such as the Keystone XL pipeline, and won massive settlements against companies that endangered public health through their dumping or misuse of dangerous chemicals. These, of course, pale in comparison to the scale of controversies sparked by his misinformed positions on vaccines. 

Art by Dana Lim

In 2005, Kennedy published an article in Rolling Stone and Salon falsely linking thimerosal, a vaccine antiseptic, to autism. In the years that followed, he continued to ignore the innumerable counts of research against his theory, becoming chief legal counsel and board chair in 2016 for Children’s Health Defense, an organization formed to purport the supposed link. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he made unfounded claims that the disease targeted specific ethnicities and that the vaccines caused injuries and death. 

Perhaps his most egregious vaccine-related claim, however, is his repeated denial against being anti-vaccine. Note that while making this claim, Kennedy holds a 10% profit stake in a lawsuit against the vaccine manufacturer Merck, from which he has already earned over $800,000 (Per NPR). Kennedy has stated that he will keep this stake despite his position as HHS Secretary, a clear conflict of interest.

He has also claimed that fluoride, a mineral used in water supplies and toothpaste to strengthen teeth, causes “arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders and thyroid disease.” That claim comes from a controversial report and ruling that did not condemn fluoride but only suggested further investigation into its use.

“Although an HHS Secretary does not necessarily need to be a doctor, they should have some level of a medical background. Worse, if they believe that vaccines cause autism, they should not be in any position of power related to public health,” Senior Spencer Yip said.

As the Trump Administration’s HHS Secretary, Kennedy will have oversight over nearly 30 smaller agencies (including the FDA), through which he will be in control of vaccine, drug, and food safety, as well as health insurance to half of the nation’s citizens through Medicare and Medicaid. So far, Kennedy has plans to fire 600 employees at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), ban pharmaceutical companies from TV advertisements, increase scrutiny of vaccines and remove FDA regulations on a slew of experimental treatments like stem cells, psychedelics and ivermectin.

“The biggest issue here is partisan influence. Regardless of Kennedy’s beliefs, the most prominent factor behind each of his decisions will be his party’s rhetoric. To add, the scope of what he can do will not be at all hindered by his limited time in office, a fact that Trump’s many executive orders have shown us,” Sophomore Yash Sethuraman said.

This is all very concerning news, but times like these are when it is most important to keep sight of the bigger picture. At the end of the day, public health is a scientific field, its results bipartisan and objective. If Kennedy, or any HHS Secretary for that matter, hurts public health, the evidence will be irrefutable and they must be removed. Any and all damage he may cause will eventually be reversed. After all, it is in the nature of medicine to fix the unfixable.

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About the Contributors

Joshua Yan

Writer

Joshua Yan is a Senior at Leland High School. This is his second year as a staff writer for the school newspaper. He likes playing piano, playing games with friends, and pen spinning.

Dana Lim

Artist

Dana Lim is a Senior at Leland High School and the Charger Account's Art Director. She loves the creative aspect of art and this is her fourth year in journalism. She likes listening to music, nights out with friends, and cats.