President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be the new leader of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
But many of Kennedy’s views on health issues contradict decades of research and broad scientific and medical consensus, yet he has gained a public following. Here are some of his controversial views.
Fact: Vaccines save lives
Kennedy is a dominant force in the anti-vaccine movement. He told podcaster Lex Fridman in a July 2023 interview, “There’s no vaccine that is, you know, safe and effective.”
This is not true. In terms of efficacy, the World Health Organization says, “vaccines have saved more human lives than any other medical invention in history.”
During the coronavirus pandemic, COVID-19 vaccination prevented 14.4 million deaths globally in the first year it was available, from December 2020 to December 2021, researchers reported in the Lancet Infectious Diseases in 2022.
The spread of misinformation and disinformation on vaccine safety has a long history but now reaches more people via social media. Kennedy’s Instagram account was taken down from 2021 to 2023 for posting debunked claims about the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccines.
Fact: The MMR vaccine doesn’t cause autism
Anti-vaccine advocates including Kennedy continue to oppose the debunked idea that vaccines cause autism. A paper published in 1998 in the Lancet suggested it had found a link between the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR) and autism. The paper, based on falsified data, was later retracted. But the damage was done, and the idea that vaccines in general could cause autism took off.
There is no evidence that vaccines – or any of the ingredients in them – cause autism spectrum disorders (ASDs).
Fact: Fluoride in water strengthens teeth
Earlier this month, Kennedy announced his goal of removing fluoride from drinking water.
A naturally occuring mineral, fluoride, can rebuild teeth. When acid from bacteria eats away at tooth enamel, fluoride can breach the gap and attract other minerals in like calcium and phosphate. This process, called remineralisation, keeps cavities at bay.
That’s why fluoride has been added to water supplies in the USA since the 1940s – a move described in 1999 by the CDC as one of the 10 great public health achievements of the 20th century.
Kennedy and other fluoride skeptics argue that the mineral damages the growing brains of children. In high doses, it can. There have been reports of fluoride toxicity from around the world. But, in the United States, the optimal dose of fluoride is set at 0.7 milligrams per litre of water, well below levels that have been linked to harm.
Fact: Microbes in raw milk can make people sick
In an October 2025 post on X, Kennedy accused the FDA of “aggressive suppression” of substances, one of which was raw milk.
Raw milk has not been pasteurised, which is a process that heat-treats food (including milk) to kill harmful bacteria. Proponents list a variety of reasons to drink raw milk, including the claim that some bacteria in raw milk could be beneficial for gut health.
Pasteurisation is key for food safety, according to both the FDA and CDC. People who drink raw milk could be exposed to foodborne bacteria such as E. coli, Salmonella and Listeria, all of which can cause severe illness.
Fact: Hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin don’t treat COVID-19
Hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin, two drugs that gained notoriety during the COVID-19 pandemic, were also listed in Kennedy’s October 2025 X post. Whilst initial studies done on cells in dishes raised hopes that the treatments might help COVID patients, myriad studies have since shown that hydroxychloroquine (an antimalarial drug), and ivermectin (an antiparasitic), are ineffective against the coronavirus.
This is not true – like many of RFK Jr’s views.
