His actions since January 2025 characterize an assault on vaccine science, public belief, and international well being, writes Dr Patrick Treacy
Pricey Sir:
As a doctor dedicated to the rules of evidence-based drugs, I’m appalled by the catastrophic influence of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s tenure as US Well being Secretary.
Dr Patrick Treacy
His actions since January 2025 characterize an assault on vaccine science, public belief and international well being. Removed from upholding his Senate affirmation pledge to keep up scientific requirements, Kennedy has systematically undermined the infrastructure that has saved 154 million lives over the previous 50 years.
His place is just not merely misguided—it’s profoundly harmful, with penalties that threaten each America and the world.
Eroding scientific integrity
Kennedy’s most alarming tactic is his rejection of settled science. By reopening debunked debates—such because the totally discredited declare that the MMR vaccine causes autism, refuted by research involving over 1.2 million youngsters—he sows confusion and mistrust. His assaults on vaccine components like thimerosal and aluminium hydroxide, each supported by in depth peer-reviewed proof for security, are equally baseless.
His determination to ban thimerosal from all US vaccines, based mostly on a presentation citing a non-existent research, exemplifies a reckless disregard for scientific rigour. As a doctor, I discover it unconscionable {that a} well being secretary would prioritise misinformation over a long time of strong knowledge.
Dismantling oversight and experience
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), as soon as a bastion of unbiased experience, has been gutted underneath Kennedy’s management. By disbanding its 17-member panel of vetted scientists and changing them with anti-vaccine advocates, he has politicised a course of designed to guard public well being.
Banning revered scientific societies from advising ACIP additional erodes checks and balances. These actions not solely weaken US vaccine coverage, but in addition set a precedent for ideological interference in science worldwide. The New England Journal of Medication warned of a ‘seismic disruption’, and I share their grave concern.
Threatening entry and innovation
Kennedy’s insurance policies straight hurt susceptible populations. By reviewing ACIP suggestions for childhood vaccines, hepatitis B, and MMRV, he dangers limiting protection underneath public insurers like Medicaid, making vaccines unaffordable for low-income households.
His proposed adjustments to the Vaccine Compensation Programme, together with baseless claims about autism, might deter producers from supplying vaccines. His demand for pointless placebo-controlled trials for all vaccines, together with modified variations, threatens to delay or halt vital boosters.
The withdrawal of Moderna’s COVID-flu vaccine software and the cancellation of £550 million in funding for chicken flu, HIV, and most cancers vaccine analysis sign a retreat from innovation that different nations might not fill.
Destabilising international well being
Kennedy’s rhetoric, questioning the necessity for childhood vaccines and attacking medical journals like The Lancet and The New England Journal of Medication as corrupt, undermines public belief at a time when vaccine uptake is already declining. His proposal for state-run journals over peer-reviewed shops additional erodes credibility.
This isn’t only a US downside—low vaccine protection will increase the chance of worldwide outbreaks, as seen in current measles circumstances in Canada. Within the nineteenth century, preventable illnesses minimize US life expectancy to round 40 years. Kennedy’s actions danger dragging us again to that period.
A harmful precedent
Kennedy’s ingenuity lies in avoiding outright bans whereas attaining the identical impact by way of advanced, obscure strategies: dismantling oversight, spreading misinformation, and creating regulatory limitations.
This calculated method is tougher to counter publicly however no much less devastating. As well being secretary, he wields immense energy to form coverage and notion, making his anti-science stance uniquely harmful.
His declare that the medical institution is corrupt dismisses the consensus constructed on rigorous proof, threatening the muse of recent drugs. The world can not afford a Well being Secretary who prioritises ideology over science. Kennedy’s actions will not be simply fallacious—they’re a public well being disaster that endangers lives in America and past. As a doctor, I urge swift motion to revive evidence-based coverage earlier than irreversible injury is completed.
Yours and so forth.
Dr Patrick Treacy
Medical Director
Ailesbury Clinics Ltd
