RFK Jr. and vaccines: A history of false and misleading claims | Fact check
The claim: RFK Jr’s only statement on vaccines is that they need to be studied
A Dec. 10 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) claims Robert F Kennedy Jr.’s comments on vaccines have been limited to advocating for more research.
“RFK is saying one thing and one thing only about vaccines: that they should be studied like any other pharmaceutical product,” reads text within the post, which was originally shared by the user on X.
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The Instagram post garnered more than 13,000 likes in five days. The user shared a similar version of the claim on Facebook.
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Our rating: False
Kennedy has made numerous claims about vaccines that go far beyond asking for study, including falsely linking them to autism.
RFK Jr. has extensive history of warning against vaccines
President-elect Donald Trump picked Kennedy on Nov. 14 to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. The nomination has proven controversial, with some saying Kennedy poses a risk to Americans’ health given his views on topics such as vaccines.
The Instagram post tries to paint Kennedy as simply asking for study, but this is revisionist history: Kennedy, who founded the anti-vaccine group Children’s Health Defense, has made an array of statements that can’t reasonably be summarized that way.
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Here are some examples:
- He falsely linked vaccines to autism during a 2023 Fox News interview: When Fox News anchor Jesse Watters asked Kennedy about his views on vaccines, Kennedy said, “Well, I do believe that autism does come from vaccines.” Multiple studies have found no link between receiving vaccines and developing autism, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. USA TODAY has repeatedly debunked the claim that vaccines are linked to autism.
- He said vaccines are not safe or effective during a July 2023 podcast: When asked by podcast host Lex Fridman if he could name any “good” vaccines, Kennedy said, “There is no vaccine that is, you know, safe and effective.”
- He called the COVID-19 vaccine “the deadliest vaccine ever made” in 2021: Kennedy spoke during a 2021 Lousiana House committee meeting on a proposal to require students to get vaccinated against COVID-19. During his 20-minute remarks, Kennedy said the COVID-19 vaccine is “the deadliest vaccine ever made.” USA TODAY has previously debunked inaccurate claims connecting the COVID-19 vaccines to mass deaths. Serious adverse reactions to them are rare, according to multiple studies. Various studies have estimated that the COVID-19 vaccines have saved millions of lives.
- He said he urges parents not to vaccinate their children in a 2021 podcast: During an episode of “The Way Forward with Alec Zeck,” Kennedy said, “We, our job is to resist and to talk about it to everybody. … I see somebody on a hiking trail with a, carrying a little baby and I say to him, ‘Better not get him vaccinated.’ And he heard that from me. If he hears it from 10 other people, maybe he won’t do it, you know, maybe he will save that child.” CNN aired the clip during an interview with Kennedy in December 2023.
- He blamed a 2019 measles outbreak in Samoa on the measles vaccine: During a measles outbreak in Samoa that killed 80 children, Kennedy wrote to the country’s prime minister to say the measles vaccine was likely causing the deaths, according to NPR. Measles is a highly contagious virus that kills more than 200,000 people annually, mostly children, according to the Mayo Clinic. It can almost always be prevented with a vaccine that is “extremely safe,” according to Johns Hopkins Medine.
The CDC recommends everyone 6 months and older get an updated COVID-19 vaccine to protect against COVID-19. The center says on its website that vaccines, including the COVID-19 vaccines, are safe and effective.
USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Lead Stories also debunked the claim.
Our fact-check sources
- Lex Fridman, July 6, 2023, Robert F. Kennedy Jr: CIA, Power, Corruption, War, Freedom, and Meaning | Lex Fridman Podcast #388
- Apple Podcasts, Sept. 3, 2021, HFfH: The State of Health Freedom with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
- CNN (YouTube), Dec. 15, 2023, CNN anchor confronts RFK Jr. by replaying his comments on vaccines
- Fox News, July 10, 2023, Robert F. Kennedy Jr: Fauci ’caused a lot of injury’
- NPR, Dec. 6, How measles, whooping cough and worse could roar back on RFK Jr.’s watch
- Louisiana House of Representatives, Dec. 6, 2021, 12/6/2021 Health and Welfare meeting
- PolitiFact, Dec. 10, 2021, No, the COVID-19 vaccine is not the deadliest vaccine ever made
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: RFK Jr. and vaccines: A history of false and misleading claims | Fact check
