US health and human services secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr stunned lawmakers during congressional hearings on Wednesday by repeatedly refusing to endorse childhood vaccinations and telling the public not to take medical advice from him, despite leading the nation’s top public health agency.Pressed by Rep Mark Pocan, during a House Appropriations Committee hearing, Kennedy hesitated when asked if he would vaccinate his child against measles. “For measles? Probably for measles” he asked. “My opinions about vaccines are irrelevant. I don’t want to seem like I’m being evasive, but I don’t think people should be taking medical advice from me,” he said, according to The New York Times.When Pocan followed up about chickenpox and polio vaccines, Kennedy again dodged. “I don’t want to give advice,” he said, despite overseeing agencies like the CDC that are responsible for issuing vaccine recommendations. Kennedy later added, “I think what we’re going to try to do is lay out the pros and cons, the risks and benefits, accurately as we understand them, with replicable studies.”His reluctance came amid a worsening measles outbreak in the US, with over 1,000 cases nationwide, including 709 in Texas alone. Two unvaccinated children have died, according to CBS News. Kennedy’s refusal to clearly support vaccines drew backlash, especially given his long history of promoting vaccine scepticism. Sen Chris Murphy, told him, “The secretary of health and human services is no longer recommending the measles vaccines… I think that’s really dangerous,” reported The Guardian.Kennedy’s comments also contradicted his April interview with CBS News, where he finally acknowledged the benefits of the measles vaccine and said, “People should get the measles vaccine,” while still opposing mandates.During the hearing, Kennedy also made misleading claims, including saying Europe doesn’t use chickenpox vaccines, though 28 European countries do, with many having national immunisation programmes, according to The New York Times Beyond vaccines, Kennedy faced criticism for sweeping staff and budget cuts. He has eliminated about 20,000 jobs and slashed $2.7 billion in research funding, including a 31% cut to cancer research. He defended these decisions vaguely, saying a court order prevented him from discussing reorganisation plans. But Georgetown law professor Lawrence Gostin was quoted by The Guardian as saying that Kennedy’s claim was “pure nonsense.”As Republicans push to extend Trump-era tax cuts by cutting healthcare subsidies, the Congressional Budget Office estimates 13.7 million more Americans could lose coverage. Advocacy groups have warned the proposed Medicaid work requirements are designed to push people off the programme.Despite the chaos, Kennedy confirmed he had reinstated some health programmes, including the World Trade Center Health Program and black lung research, after pushback from Republican lawmakers. Still, Democrats accused him of playing political favourites with which programmes survive. Rep Rosa DeLauro asked pointedly, “Is there a special phone number if I want to save tobacco prevention, lead poisoning?”
