What Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said about vaccines, fluoride and food dye as Trump nominates him to head the Department of Health and Human Services

President-elect Donald Trump has named Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as his choice for the next secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.

The HHS secretary is a Cabinet-level position, and thus has to be nominated and confirmed by the Senate Committee on Finance. But the announcement potentially sets the stage for Kennedy to lead a wide array of agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration, from which he’s said he would cut “entire departments.”

Trump made the announcement in a Truth Social post Thursday afternoon, saying, “Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation and disinformation.” He added that Kennedy will “ensure everybody will be protected from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products and food additives that have contributed to the overwhelming Health Crisis in this Country,” and reiterated Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” slogan. Trump has previously said that he would allow Kennedy to “go wild” in his appointed position and “do pretty much what he wants.”

But what would an RFK Jr.-led HHS actually mean for the American people? Here’s what to know about some of the former presidential candidate’s ideas about health, and what experts make of them.

After decades of anti-vaccine activism, Kennedy is taking a softer stance

Kennedy told MSNBC on Nov. 6 that he has “never been anti-vaccine,” but his track record suggests otherwise. He took a position in 2015 as chairman of an organization called Children’s Health Defense, which puts vaccines as its first concern on its website. The organization questions the health, safety and efficacy of childhood vaccines and has filed lawsuits claiming that children have been harmed by immunizations. Kennedy has also amplified false claims that vaccines cause autism, and was deemed one of the “Disinformation Dozen” responsible for spreading 65% of false claims about shots online by the Center for Countering Digital Hate.

He now insists that he is not “going to take away anybody’s vaccines” and wants to “make sure the scientific safety studies and efficacy studies are out there and people can make individual assessments about whether that product is going to be good for them.”

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This personal choice approach may sound benign, but it doesn’t work particularly well when applied to infectious diseases. When people are deciding if they should get their kids or themselves vaccinated against an intangible, eradicated disease such as measles or polio, “it’s a catch-22,” Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, tells Yahoo Life. “The reason you don’t see that disease is because [people are being] vaccinated and there’s enough herd immunity around you that if someone does get the disease, it doesn’t spread.”

Rates of childhood vaccination have already fallen below the recommended levels for herd immunity against illnesses like measles and pertussis (also known as whooping cough) in many states as the share of parents choosing not to get their kids vaccinated via exemptions has risen. And as fewer kids have gotten immunized, more outbreaks of those diseases have cropped up. “While it’s critical for people to have access to accurate safety information and to make informed decisions, … allowing broad individual opt-outs could lead to a weakening of that community protection,” Dr. Jerome Adams, who served as surgeon general during Trump’s first term, tells Yahoo Life. Currently, each state sets its school vaccine requirements, but they’re based on recommendations made by federal health authorities.

Kennedy on fluoride

According to the most recent data available from the Centers for Disease Control and Health Prevention, about 63% of the U.S. population received fluoride in their drinking water in 2022. Fluoride is a mineral that occurs naturally in certain foods and helps to promote strong bones and teeth. Dentists treat teeth with fluoride, and the mineral is found in most toothpastes. Its addition to drinking water is credited with reducing cavity rates by between 25% and 35% for both children and adults.

Fluoride was added to the U.S. community water supply in the 1940s. In the many decades since, fluoride has become conspiracy theory and misinformation fodder. Days before the election, Kennedy repeated unproven claims that “fluoride is an industrial waste associated with arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders, and thyroid disease” on X. He also said that “on January 20, the Trump White House will advise all U.S​. water systems to remove fluoride from public water.”

Kennedy walked back this claim in his MSNBC interview on Wednesday, saying he wouldn’t compel anyone to remove fluoride from drinking water. But, he added, “I think the faster that it goes out the better,” and suggested that he would warn water districts about their “legal liability” if they chose to leave fluoride in their water systems.

In practice, fluoridation is a practice dictated by state and local authorities. “While the federal government can set recommendations, it cannot directly mandate or prohibit fluoride use in public water systems,” says Adams. But, he adds, the White House and the secretary of health and human services can influence local policies through funding allocations, recommendations and public messaging. Removing fluoride altogether, as Kennedy claims the White House will do, could “cost the U.S. billions in added health care expenses due to the increased need for dental treatments,” says Adams.

‘Why do we eat Froot Loops?’ Kennedy is concerned about food dyes and additives

Kennedy vowed in a statement Wednesday to gut “entire departments” of the FDA. Specifically, he called out the “nutrition department,” which he says is “not protecting our kids. Why do We have Froot Loops in this country that [contain] 18 or 19 ingredients, and you go to Canada and there are three?” (For what it’s worth, Kennedy acknowledged that only Congress has the authority to eliminate federal agencies).

While Kennedy didn’t explain why this was a top issue for him in his MSNBC interview, in September he posted a video on YouTube that sheds some light on the subject. Referring to Cap’n Crunch cereal and Doritos, he opined that “it’s no coincidence that Americans die earlier than Canadians or Germans or Japanese or Koreans or Australians or most any other comparable country,” citing rising rates of obesity and cancer. To be clear, there is no evidence that food dyes or additives, on their own, are deadly or cause cancer, though researchers are investigating the relationship between highly processed foods, obesity and disease.

“While RFK Jr. raises some valid concerns about the ingredients and additives in our food supply, particularly the use of artificial food dyes and preservatives, the broader suggestion of eliminating regulatory departments such as the FDA’s nutrition division is misguided,” says Adams. “Regarding food additives, while there is growing public concern about certain ingredients, many of these concerns are addressed through existing regulatory processes. The FDA regularly reviews the safety of food additives based on new science and research.”

Implementing Kennedy’s ambitious policies will be up to the states

Kennedy’s stated goal is to “Make America Healthy Again,” but can he achieve that? Most health policies, including water fluoridation and vaccine requirements, are under the purview of state and local governments. However, if Kennedy’s beliefs translate into policy or messaging, there could be real consequences. The hope, though, is that the incoming administration will “prioritize the well-being of the public,” Adams said.