Nurses urge Senate to reject RFK Jr. as HHS Secretary over vaccine stance

Nurses Urge Senate to Block Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Health Secretary Nomination

The largest union of registered nurses in the United States, National Nurses United (NNU), is appealing to the Senate to reject Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s nomination as the Secretary of the Health and Human Services Department (HHS).

Nancy Hagans, RN, and president of NNU, expressed the union's concerns, stating, "For nurses across the United States, memories of Covid’s deadliest days are still painfully fresh, and we know that having strong leadership in the federal agencies tasked with protecting public health is a matter of life and death... Kennedy has a long track record of anti-science positions and opposition to measures that keep people healthy and safe. He’s the wrong candidate for the job, his nomination puts lives at risk, and our patients deserve better."

Nurses argue that Kennedy's history of opposing vaccines and spreading disinformation makes him a risky choice for the position. They recall the Trump administration's freeze on HHS communications and activities, which disrupted crucial health research during an H5N1 outbreak. They fear Kennedy's leadership could further destabilize the department.

Kennedy's controversial views on vaccines are well-documented. In a 2023 podcast, he claimed no vaccine is "safe and effective," challenging CDC guidelines on childhood vaccinations. He has perpetuated the debunked myth linking vaccines to autism and, with legal support, petitioned the FDA to revoke the polio vaccine and halt 13 other vaccines. His stance on measles vaccination has been linked to a 2019 measles outbreak in Samoa that resulted in 83 deaths.

Nurses who fought on the Covid-19 frontlines are particularly disturbed by Kennedy’s criticism of Covid vaccines and prevention strategies. Despite a 2024 estimate that such measures saved 800,000 lives in the U.S. by mid-2021, Kennedy has falsely claimed that Covid-19 vaccines are the "deadliest vaccine ever made." Further, he suggested at a 2023 press event that the virus was engineered to target specific ethnic groups.

Hagans remarked, “Kennedy’s tenure would further inflame public distrust of critical vaccines and other health and safety protections... It is insulting and dangerous to nominate him to head the HHS when it’s clear from his very public record that he would actively position our country to experience more deaths when the next deadly infectious disease strikes.”

The nurses emphasize the importance of prioritizing patient safety during the Senate's confirmation hearings and urge lawmakers to reject Kennedy's nomination for the sake of public health.


National Nurses United represents 225,000 registered nurses across the United States.

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