More than 20 prominent health groups and medical associations have called for the resignation of US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., accusing him of putting lives at risk by disregarding decades of lifesaving science and reversing medical progress.
The groups, including the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the American Public Health Association, and the American Association of Immunologists, expressed their concerns in a joint statement published on Wednesday.
The statement highlights Kennedy’s “repeated efforts to undermine science and public health,” which have left Americans “less safe in a multitude of ways”.
The health experts assert that Kennedy’s policies are forcing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) experts to “turn their back on decades of sound science” to further his agenda.
“Our country needs leadership that will promote open, honest dialogue, not disregard decades of lifesaving science, spread misinformation, reverse medical progress and decimate programs that keep us safe,” the statement emphasized.
Kennedy’s decisions have sparked intense criticism, particularly his firing of CDC Director Susan Monarez, less than a month after she was sworn in.
Monarez’s lawyers claim she was targeted for refusing to “rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts”. Her departure coincided with the resignations of at least four other top CDC officials in response to Kennedy’s influence over the agency.
Since his appointment, Kennedy has made sweeping changes to US vaccine policies, causing friction with health officials.
In May, he withdrew federal recommendations for COVID shots for pregnant women and healthy children. In June, he fired all members of the CDC’s expert vaccine advisory panel and replaced them with hand-picked advisers, including anti-vaccine activists.
These moves have been widely criticized by health experts, who warn that they could put vulnerable populations at risk.
In August, Kennedy cancelled nearly $500 million in funding for mRNA vaccine research, citing concerns about safety. However, health experts argue that mRNA vaccines have been instrumental in preventing millions of deaths from COVID-19 and have the potential to treat diseases such as cancer and HIV.
The International Vaccine Access Center at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health credits mRNA vaccines with saving countless lives.
The joint statement from health groups and medical associations is not the only criticism Kennedy has faced. Hundreds of federal health employees wrote to Kennedy on August 20, imploring him to “stop spreading inaccurate health information” and for him to either resign or be fired.
Signatories accused Kennedy of “sowing public mistrust by questioning the integrity and morality” of the CDC’s workforce, including by calling the public health agency a “cesspool of corruption”.
In response to the criticism, Kennedy stated that his mission is “to restore the CDC’s focus on infectious disease” and “rebuild trust through transparency and competence”.
However, health experts argue that his actions are undermining the CDC’s credibility and putting public health at risk.
As the debate continues, one thing is clear: the stakes are high, and the future of public health in the US hangs in the balance. Will Kennedy’s policies prevail, or will health experts and medical associations succeed in pushing for change? Only time will tell.