The Nation's Six Former Surgeon General: Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Endangers Americans' Health

Six former U.S. Surgeon Generals published an open letter in the Washington Post in which they warn that the actions of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. threaten the health of the American people.

The doctors said they could not ignore the “profound, immediate and unprecedented danger to Americans that Kennedy's policies and positions pose.”

“In recent months, the foundations of the U.S. public health care system have been undermined. Science and expertise have given way to ideology and disinformation. Morale in our health care agencies has plummeted, and talented workers are fleeing in a time of mounting threats – from recurring infectious diseases to worsening chronic diseases,” said the authors of the letter published on Tuesday. claiming that Kennedy was the driving force behind the crisis.

For many years, the current head of the ministry “has been spreading dangerous and discredited (by scientists – PAP) claims about vaccines, (of which – PAP) the most famous is the completely discredited theory that childhood vaccines cause autism.” “He promoted disinformation about the HPV vaccine, which protects against cervical cancer, and repeatedly misrepresented the risks associated with mRNA technology and coronavirus vaccines, despite the life-saving impact (of these preparations – PAP) during the (Covid-19) pandemic,” it added.

Kennedy removed all members of the health department's vaccine advisory committee, replacing the experts with “people who lack basic qualifications and some are supporters of vaccine conspiracy theories.” “The new committee has already begun to question the effectiveness of the hepatitis B vaccine for newborns, despite decades of data confirming its effectiveness and (…) safety,” the authors of the letter noted.

“Vaccine discredit undermines one of the most important public health tools in U.S. history. Thanks to universal vaccinations, we have eliminated smallpox and polio in the United States, and prevented approximately 1.1 million deaths and 508 million infections among children born between 1994 and 2023,” the doctors wrote. They stated that Kennedy ignores science and, instead of combating the spread of disinformation, only reinforces it. They emphasized that leading leaders are leaving the health care system specialists, including due to pressure on them to approve scientifically unproven conclusions.

US President Donald Trump “deserves the head of the Ministry of Health who will defend science, not dangerous nonsense,” the doctors wrote.

“Minister Kennedy is entitled to his views, but he has no right to put people's health at risk. He has rejected science, misled the public, and endangered the health of Americans. The nation deserves a Secretary of Health and Human Services who is committed to scientific integrity and can restore morale and trust in our public health agencies,” they concluded.

(PAP)

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