Dear Editor:

We must not confirm RFK Jr. to head HHS. We already face a measles outbreak in Texas among unvaccinated children and outbreaks of tuberculosis in Kansas and North Carolina. There was a case of paralytic polio in New York in 2022; we risk more. Perhaps Senator McConnell could remind people what that is like.  

We’ve had ~18,000 cases of whooping cough this year, more than five- fold higher than in 2023. We will no doubt see a resurgence of other infectious diseases. RFK Jr. has strongly opposed vaccines and receives referral fees for suits against Merck’s HPV vaccine (from which he made $850,000 last year). This is an ethical conflict of interest. 

RFK Jr. has no medical training or expertise, nor does he have a legitimate background in public health. He also lacks the managerial experience or organizational leadership that we should expect for someone overseeing 80,000+ employees. He lacks basic knowledge about Medicaid and Medicare. Questioned by Senator Cassidy, Kennedy wrongly said the federal government fully pays for Medicaid, but it does not; states and federal taxpayers fund Medicaid.  

The NIH has funded much of the basic science research underlying our new drugs. By threatening to purge the NIH and FDA of 80% of their employees, the administration will decimate the US’ stance as a leader in biomedical innovation and drug development. 

Kennedy said he does “not believe that infectious disease is an enormous threat to human health.” Kennedy also claimed there that “medical research on these diseases and vaccine research has created some of the worst plagues in our history,” including HIV, Spanish flu, and Lyme.   

As an infectious disease physician, nothing has saddened and horrified me more than seeing children die of vaccine-preventable diseases. I urge Senator Collins and King to reject RFK Jr.’s nomination.  

Judy Stone, MD 

Boothbay Harbor