More than 17,000 physicians across the country signed an open letter urging senators to reject the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Health and Human Services secretary.
The Committee to Protect Health Care, a physicians advocacy group, posted the letter online and set a goal of 20,000 signatures. More than 17,800 doctors had signed the petition by late Thursday afternoon.
In the letter, the group says it's "appalled" by the selection of Kennedy by President-elect Donald Trump to run HHS, calling Kennedy "unqualified" and "actively dangerous."
"This appointment is a slap in the face to every health care professional who has spent their lives working to protect patients from preventable illness and death," the letter reads. "Americans deserve better."
The letter asserts that Kennedy "has a well-documented history of spreading dangerous disinformation on vaccines and public health interventions." The group used Kennedy's 2019 trip to Samoa as an example, when he "amplified doubts about the safety of the measles vaccine."
"After his visit, vaccination rates plummeted from 60 percent to just 31 percent, sparking a measles outbreak that killed 83 people — most of them children under the age of five. RFK Jr.'s actions directly contributed to this tragedy," the letter reads.
Kennedy has repeatedly said he is not anti-vaccine and denied any connection to the Samoa measles outbreak.
"I never told anybody not to vaccinate," Kennedy said in a 2023 documentary titled "Shot in the Arm," adding he didn't go to Samoa about the measles vaccine. He said he went to help oversee safety after nurses accidentally mixed vaccinations with an expired muscle relaxer that killed two infants, The Washington Post reported.
Kennedy's confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill has not yet been scheduled.
"As physicians, we are outraged by this appointment and we call on the Senate to act immediately," the letter concluded. "Reject Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s nomination and demand qualified leadership at HHS that prioritizes science, the protection of public health, and the well-being of all Americans. The health and security of our nation depend on it. Anything less is an abdication of responsibility to the American people."
A Kennedy spokesperson in the Trump transition team was unmoved by the opposition.
"Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will be confirmed and those who are spending their time undermining him will have no place and no voice at HHS," Katie Miller told NBC News. "Good luck and best wishes to them."
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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