From Left, National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Jayanta Bhattacharya, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Marty Makary, during a news conference at the Health and Human Services Department in Washington, April 22, 2025. In an interview with Dr. Phil, the health secretary offered false information about vaccine oversight and revealed a lack of basic understanding of new drug approvals. (Al Drago/The New York Times)
- Health Secretary RFK Jr. questioned vaccine safety, contradicting science during measles outbreak, spreading misinformation on FDA approval processes.
- Kennedy urged parents to "do your own research" on vaccines, despite public health warnings and rising measles deaths nationwide.
- RFK Jr. falsely claimed vaccines aren’t safety-tested, echoing debunked views amid largest U.S. measles outbreak in decades.
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Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. advised parents of newborns to “do your own research” before vaccinating their infants during a televised interview in which he also suggested the measles shot was unsafe and repeatedly made false statements that cast doubt on the benefits of vaccination and the independence of the Food and Drug Administration.
Kennedy made the remarks to talk show host Dr. Phil in an interview that aired Monday on MeritTV. He said, as he has in the past, that “if you want to avoid spreading measles, the best thing you can do is take that vaccine.”
But Kennedy also made clear, as he has in the past, that he believes it is up to individuals to decide. In suggesting vaccines are unsafe, he contradicted decades of advice from public health experts, including leaders of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“I would say that we live in a democracy, and part of the responsibility of being a parent is to do your own research,” the health secretary said, in response to a question from a woman in the audience who asked how he would advise a new parent about vaccine safety. “You research the baby stroller, you research the foods that they’re getting, and you need to research the medicines that they’re taking as well.”
The Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Kennedy’s Comments Come as Large Measles Outbreak Hits US
Kennedy’s comments came amid the largest measles outbreak in about 25 years in the United States, which has included the deaths of two young children and an adult.
Kennedy also suggested, without evidence, that measles shots cause a variety of ailments.
Kennedy’s other statements in the interview were also rife with inaccuracies. “New drugs are approved by outside panels, not by the FDA or the CDC,” he declared.
That is false.
Kennedy also insisted, inaccurately, that vaccines are not evaluated for safety either before or after they are licensed.
In fact, the Food and Drug Administration licenses vaccines after a yearslong process that begins with extensive testing in the lab and in animals and progresses to trials in humans.
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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
By Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Christina Jewett/Al Drago
c. 2025 The New York Times Company
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