Opinion: RFK Jr.’s opposition to vaccines disqualifies him from leading the nation’s health agency

Linda Vail, former Ingham County Health Officer, urges Michigan Sens. Gary Peters and Elissa Slotkin to protect the health and safety of Michiganders by rejecting RFK Jr.’s nomination.

As a public health expert and advocate, I am extremely concerned about the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the nation’s Department of Health and Human Services. Every Michigander should be, too. 

Kennedy has a long history of opposing vaccines and spreading falsehoods about them. His anti-vaccine nonprofit is driving misinformation and legal efforts against public health campaigns. He recently said that should he be confirmed to take charge of HHS, he will “give infectious disease a break” to focus on chronic conditions. 

HHS is an agency designed to “improve the health, safety, and well-being of America.” Leaving this important department in the hands of someone who opposes vaccines would put Michiganders and our fellow Americans in danger of a deadly resurgence of illnesses like polio and measles.  

The risk is real. 

Michigan is seeing spikes in diseases that we used to have under control. In 2024, More than 1,500 cases of whooping cough were reported, two-and-a-half times the 600 cases we saw in a typical year before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. More than half the cases were among kids ages 5 to 17. Two of every three cases involved people who were unvaccinated or behind on their vaccinations. Whooping cough is dangerous and can be fatal for infants and young children.  

Whooping cough isn’t the only preventable disease that’s on the rise.

In 2024, at least six people in Michigan were reported to have measles, a disease that can kill children and is especially dangerous to pregnant people and those with weakened immunity. At least 16 measles outbreaks were reported in the United States last year, compared with only four in 2023. Michigan’s last known case of measles prior to last year was reported in 2019. The MMR vaccine, which helps protect children against measles, mumps and rubella, is widely available and has helped keep children safe and prevent deaths around the world.  

Though effective vaccines are readily available, more families are skipping them. In 2018, 75% of children 18 months to 3 years old were vaccinated. In 2024, that rate plunged to only 70%. 

The scourge of polio is fresh in the minds of people who are still alive today and were children when the disease left countless people with crippling injuries, including the inability to breathe or walk unassisted. When the polio vaccine was introduced in the 1950s, it prevented 20 million cases of paralysis in American children and nearly eradicated the disease. Rejecting the polio vaccine opens the door for this awful disease to return, with devastating consequences.   

And with transmission of highly infectious, dangerous and preventable diseases threatening to increase in the United States and in neighboring countries, we should be working hard to encourage more people to get vaccinated. Installing someone like RFK Jr. who spreads disinformation about vaccines and actively discourages vaccinations would be counterproductive to public health and Michiganders’ safety and wellbeing. 

That’s why more than 15,000 physicians across the nation signed a letter opposing RFK Jr.’s nomination to HHS, saying the “health and well-being of 336 million Americans depend on leadership at HHS that prioritizes science, evidence-based medicine, and strengthening the integrity of our public health system.”  

In the face of disease outbreaks, Americans deserve leaders who will follow science and support best medical practices, both of which support immunizations against diseases. The US Senate, including Michigan Sens. Gary Peters and Elissa Slotkin, should stand up for our health and safety and reject RFK. Jr. for HHS secretary.