Incoming president Donald Trump has recently picked Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as the next head of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Experts, however, say his nomination could be detrimental to the health of the youth, largely due to his stance on vaccines and other health matters.
Michael Bloomberg, former mayor of New York City, warned against Kennedy's nomination during the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg American Health Summit. In his speech, he asked Senate Republicans to convince Trump to rethink choosing Kennedy to lead the HHS.
"If the president-elect doesn't reconsider the nomination, the Senate has a duty to our whole country, but especially to our children, to vote no," he said, as quoted by The Hill.
Kennedy has a history of spreading misinformation on serious health concerns, including vaccine shots and gender health care.
On Gender Care
On a podcast in June, Kennedy claimed "endocrine disruptors" found in herbicide chemicals could turn children transgender. Particularly, he said exposure to herbicide could contribute to a child having "sexual confusion" and "gender dysphoria." He cited studies on frogs exposed to the chemical, which showed feminization effects. He then extrapolated the findings to humans despite lacking scientific basis.
Kennedy has also expressed opposition to gender-affirming care for minors and said transition-related treatments should be delayed until adulthood. He believes children are too young to consent to certain medical interventions such as puberty blockers (which he refers to as castration drugs) and sex-change procedures (which he refers to as surgical mutilation).
It is important to note that only 3% of minors experiencing gender dysphoria are prescribed puberty blockers, per CBS News. The decision-making process for such treatment also typically involves multiple consultations with doctors and mental health professionals and consent from parents or guardians.
On Vaccines
Apart from unfounded claims related to gender identity, Kennedy has also falsely promoted misinformation about vaccine shots. For example, he falsely blamed autism in children on thimerosal, a compound safely used as a preservative in vaccines.
In 2021, Kennedy also claimed the COVID-19 vaccine is the "deadliest vaccine ever made" ever made.
Experts worry that his views could further erode public trust in vaccines, potentially leading to a decline in vaccination rates. This could lead to an increased risk of outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases and a resurgence of measles. Lower vaccination rates also leave communities more susceptible to future outbreaks, potentially overwhelming the US healthcare system.
