Kennedy Tells Anti-Vaccine Group They Have a Friend in the White House

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. delivered the keynote address Thursday at a conference hosted by the Children's Health Defense, an anti-vaccine activist group he once chaired, telling attendees they had a strong ally in President Donald Trump's administration.

It was Kennedy's first appearance at the group's conference since he became secretary. He took leave from the organization when he launched his presidential bid in 2023, but his speech served as a homecoming of sorts, offering a platform to highlight the administration's efforts to scale back vaccine guidance and to assure activists their priorities were being translated into policy.

"Let me be clear: You have a strong and steadfast friend in the White House. We've accomplished in 19 months things that would have seemed unthinkable two years ago," Kennedy said.

The address, which included questions about long-established vaccine safety, underscored how once-fringe views on vaccines have gained a prominent pulpit under the Trump administration. Kennedy praised moves to downsize the childhood vaccination schedule and reshape a key vaccine advisory board — actions that have since been halted by a judge. He also lauded Trump for an executive order last month calling for spacing out the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, contrary to medical groups' recommendations.

The speech and the executive order mark a pivot for the White House and HHS, which earlier this year appeared to be shifting toward a less contentious agenda focused on healthy food ahead of November's midterm elections. HHS promoted the speech on its social media channels.

Kennedy, a longtime anti-vaccine activist, chaired Children's Health Defense for years and expanded it as its chief legal counsel. After becoming health secretary last year, he moved swiftly to overhaul public health guidance and reshape vaccine policymaking. Critics, including many of the nation's top medical associations, warn the moves risk stoking vaccine hesitancy and sowing confusion among Americans whose trust in public health agencies was already eroded by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We have not taken vaccines away from anybody. We have preserved access. But we have started asking the questions that you and millions of American parents have been asking for years," Kennedy told the group.

Mary Holland, CEO of Children's Health Defense, referred to Kennedy as "Bobby" and expressed "gratitude beyond words" for his recognition of what she called real consequential issues around childhood vaccinations.

Kennedy's appearance comes as the country faces its worst year for measles since 1991, with seven reported measles-associated deaths in the last two years — more than the combined total of reported deaths over the previous three decades. Pennsylvania officials have reported four measles-associated deaths this year, none of whom were vaccinated, according to the state health department. The announcement of the first two deaths last month ignited a public feud between Gov. Josh Shapiro and Kennedy.

Shapiro criticized Kennedy's appearance on X, saying the secretary "chose to spend his time today addressing the premier vaccine-denial conference in America." He added that Kennedy should have encouraged measles vaccination, "yet he couldn't bring himself to do it. Instead, he pushed a narrative that continues to stoke fear and mistrust."

The White House did not respond to a request for comment on Kennedy's appearance.

Following Kennedy onstage was Andrew Wakefield, author of a since-discredited study linking the MMR vaccine to autism, a claim that fueled the anti-vaccine movement despite being retracted. Widespread scientific consensus and decades of studies have firmly concluded there is no link between vaccines and autism.

Shaughnessy Naughton, founder of 314 Action, a group that recruits scientists to run for public office, said Kennedy's decision to speak at the conference shows "the lack of seriousness he brings to HHS." She added, "With a deadly measles outbreak killing people in Pennsylvania, the best thing Kennedy can do for Americans is step aside."