1. United States
2. Kan.
3. Letter

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is undermining science-based health policy, which will lead to a loss of lives for generations to come. As the Secretary of HHS, he dismissed all 17 experts on the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel (ACIP) and replaced them with vaccine skeptics, including individuals like Robert Malone, who have spread misinformation about COVID-19. The impact of removing qualified doctors, scientists, virologists, and other experts from HHS is severe. Vaccine confidence is already declining, which threatens decades of evidence-based policymaking. mRNA vaccines, crucial in ending the COVID-19 pandemic and currently being developed for HIV and cancer, are now at risk. America’s scientific leadership has achieved remarkable milestones, but RFK Jr. is already flushing all of that down the toilet. Congress must remove RFK Jr. and other HHS leaders who lack relevant scientific or medical experience. Maintaining scientific standards in health policy is vital and will be a matter of life or death.