The new US Health Secretary is likely to be Robert F Kennedy Jr, an anti-vaccine campaigner who also has many other fringe views on health.
President-elect Donald Trump, who announced he will nominate Kennedy as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, previously said he would let him “go wild” on health.
It’s a controversial decision because Kennedy, formerly an environmental campaigner, has aligned himself with many alternative health theories rather than those of mainstream medicine.
The head of the American Public Health Association (APHA) said the organisation would oppose Kennedy’s nomination. APHA’s executive director Georges Benjamin said on BBC’s Newsday programme that he has no health background and has “already caused great damage in health in the country”, referring to Kennedy’s scepticism of vaccines.
So, where does Kennedy stand on key issues and what does the science say?
Vaccines
Policy: This area is many doctors’ biggest concern over Kennedy, who claims that childhood vaccines cause autism, something that has been disproven multiple times.
Kennedy has stated that he doesn’t intend to ban or limit access to vaccines, and US vaccine policies are set by an expert panel of doctors, the Advisory Committee on Immunisation Practices, with some variation from state to state.
He could, however, try to roll back state laws that children must have had certain shots before they can attend school or daycare – a move that would probably outrage US doctors, although many other countries, such as the UK, leave the choice to parents.
And any such anti-vaccine policies or rhetoric from such a high-profile politician could lower parents’ confidence in childhood vaccines. As the US has such a large world influence, anti-vaccine sentiments could also increase in the UK and elsewhere. “If this makes families hesitate to immunise against the deadly diseases that threaten children, the consequence will be fatal for some,” said Professor Sir Andrew Pollard, a vaccine developer at the University of Oxford.
Verdict: Kennedy’s views on vaccine safety are science fiction rather than science fact.
UK impact: If vaccine wars break out in US, anti-vaccine sentiment may rise everywhere.
Ultra-processed food
Policy: Kennedy has a plan, endorsed by Trump, to “Make America Healthy Again”, by reversing the country’s rising rates of chronic disease, such as obesity and type 2 diabetes. He blames the modern diet’s reliance on highly processed foods, also called ultra-processed food or UPF. Kennedy wants to strip UPF from school lunches and ban people from using food stamps to buy it.
The US certainly has one of the highest rates of obesity in the world, but it’s debated by scientists whether UPF is to blame or if the modern diet just has too much fat and sugar. While UPF tends to be high in fat and sugar, not all is, and the fear is that demonising UPF as a category could put people off healthy foods that are also highly processed, like wholemeal bread, high-fibre cereals, yogurt and baked beans.
“While RFK Jr’s desire to tackle chronic conditions, including obesity, is commendable, how he might go about it is less clear,” said Dr David Elliman, a paediatrician at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children.
Verdict: UPF science is still uncertain but here, Kennedy has captured the diet zeitgeist.
UK impact: Probably none – no one has yet figured out how to significantly change public eating habits.
Food additives
Policy: Another of Kennedy’s targets is additives in modern food, such as colourings and other artificial chemicals, which he wants to ban. But there is no good evidence that these are harmful.
As in the UK, new ingredients are generally tested before they can be added to food. Past concerns that food colourings could cause hyperactivity in children were unfounded.
Verdict: This colourful claim is hard to swallow.
UK impact: Probably none, unless similar concerns spread to the UK.
Pesticides in farming
Policy: Kennedy has also railed against the use of pesticides in farming, saying their presence in food contributes to many different chronic diseases.
Verdict: He may have a point. Some pesticides used in the US are banned for safety reasons in the UK and Europe.
UK impact: Probably none, if the US bans chemicals that are already banned here.
GMOs in farming
Policy: While there is little use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in farming in the UK and the rest of Europe, they are widespread in the US.
Again, Kennedy wants to ban GMO food for health reasons. But the scientific consensus is that GMO plants have no inherent risks. They have been used in the US since 1994 – and today, 90 per cent of the soya beans and corn grown there is genetically modified. If GMOs were bad for us, we would have seen evidence of it by now.
It is hard to imagine how Kennedy could force through a ban, given US farming is so dependent on GMOs. But he succeeds, it might reduce chances of UK introduction of GMO food, which some scientists are working towards.
Verdict: No good science supports Kennedy’s anti-GMO stance.
UK impact: It could influence GMO debate here.
Big Pharma
Policy: Kennedy has said his number one target is the US Food and Drug Administration, which oversees regulation of the country’s pharmaceuticals and food. He has accused some agency staff of doing the bidding of Big Pharma and Big Food.
“FDA’s war on public health is about to end,” Kennedy said on X in October. “If you work for the FDA and are part of this corrupt system, I have two messages for you: 1. Preserve your records, and 2. Pack your bags.”
In Kennedy’s defence, many scientists say the agency is too close to industry and should be more transparent. They have also criticised recent FDA decisions to approve certain medications, including the Alzheimer’s treatment, aducanumab. This got FDA go-ahead against the advice of the agency’s own experts, who said there was not enough evidence that the medicine slows memory loss.
If RFK Jr directs his energies to ensuring more transparency from pharmaceutical companies, “it would be no bad thing”, said Dr Elliman.
Verdict: There is no evidence for FDA corruption but the agency is probably overdue a shake-up.
UK impact: May be minimal, as UK drug approval decisions are made independently of FDA.
Water fluoridation
Policy: About two-thirds of US homes get tap water that contains the mineral fluoride, as this strengthens teeth and prevents decay. Kennedy claims it can cause cancer and called the substance an “industrial waste”.
But decisions on water fluoridation are taken at local levels and it’s unclear if Kennedy could affect them.
Verdict: The evidence of harm from water fluoridation is weak.
UK impact: Probably none. About a tenth of the UK water supply is fluoridated, but it is not generally a contentious issue.
Raw milk
Only a small proportion of the US public are thought to consume or even want to consume milk that hasn’t been pasteurised, in other words, heat-treated to kill bacteria. Yet the issue is often in US news, perhaps because it is emblematic of the conflict between individuals’ rights and government regulation. Raw milk fans claim it contains immune-boosting enzymes that are destroyed by heating. Scientists say it also contains deadly bacteria and viruses.
Laws on raw milk vary from state to state, but Kennedy has said he wants it to be legal everywhere. His timing is particularly poor because bird flu is infecting an increasing number of US dairy herds, said Dr Simon Williams, a public health researcher at Swansea University. “Drinking raw milk will be a prime risk factor for starting a bird flu pandemic,” he said.
Verdict: Few doctors think raw milk is a good idea.
UK impact: Raw milk is sold by only a few UK farms, under stringent safety precautions. But if this trend makes the US the starting point for a bird flu pandemic, the impact will be global.
This post was originally published on here
