RFK Jr. and “Radical Transparency”
RFK Jr. recently praised the CDC for listing perceived conflicts of interest by its advisory board. Now, Mr. Kennedy, it’s your turn.
On March 7th, 2025, the CDC posted a list of potential conflicts of interest by its advisory board members. The board, called the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), consists of experts in the fields of virology, microbiology, epidemiology, immunology, and infectious diseases. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. praised the CDC for its “radical transparency.” Finally, at least according to him, the public could see the secret alliances between CDC advisors and Big Pharma (even though this information has always been available to the public).
Is RFK Jr. right? Has Big Pharma captured voting members on these advisory committees? Here’s how this works. At the beginning of every ACIP meeting, each member declares potential conflicts of interest. For example, suppose a voting member served on a Data Safety Monitoring Board for a vaccine trial. That member would not be allowed to vote on a recommendation for that product or any product made by the same company.
I served on the ACIP between 1998 and 2003 and have been on the FDA’s Vaccine Advisory Committee since 2017. Like all advisory committee members, if the science supports a particular vaccine, we vote yes. If it doesn’t, we vote no. While we don’t always agree, the only consideration is the quality of the science. For example, during my time on the ACIP, I voted “no” on a smallpox vaccine that the George W. Bush administration wanted to administer to first-line responders before our invasion of Iraq. I also headed the polio working group that withdrew our recommendation for the live, attenuated, oral polio vaccine—which many of us saw as unacceptably dangerous—in favor of the inactivated polio vaccine. When I was on the FDA Vaccine Advisory Committee, I voted “no” on the bivalent Covid-19 vaccine in 2022 because I didn’t think that it was any better than what we had. Like all advisory committee members, I was trying to follow the science. Despite his claims of “radical transparency,” I challenge RFK Jr. to point to a single instance where an advisory board member financially benefited from their vote.
For RFK Jr., on the other hand, science isn’t his guidepost. Rather, he’s a paid advocate for the anti-vaccine movement, which, like Big Pharma, is also a business (Big Anti-Vax). In 2018, RFK Jr. founded Children’s Health Defense (CHD), which, by 2023 reported annual revenues of $23 million, and paid him more than $300,000. Revenue from antivaccine content on social media alone is about $1 billion per year. As an advocate for his client, RFK Jr. has been steadfast, claiming that “vaccines cause autism”, that “no vaccine is safe and effective”, that the “polio vaccine killed many, many, many more people than it saved”, and that the Covid-19 vaccine was the “deadliest vaccine ever made.” Because RFK Jr. isn’t bound by science, he has never given an unequivocal, hearty endorsement of any vaccine. Ever.
When RFK Jr. was selected to head the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), some thought that now, given that he would be paid by the federal government and not an anti-vaccine group, he would represent the best interests of public health. It wasn’t to be. RFK Jr.’s second confirmation hearing, on January 30th, 2025, revealed why. It occurred during a heated exchange with Senator Elizabeth Warren.
Senator Warren: In the past two years, you’ve raked in $2.5 million from a law firm called Wisner Baum…You do commercials to encourage people to sign up with Wisner Baum to join lawsuits against vaccine makers. And for everyone who signs up, you personally get paid; and if they win their case, you get 10% of what they win. So, if you bring in someone who gets $10 million, you walk away with a million dollars…Will you agree that you also won’t take any compensation from any lawsuits against drug companies while you are Secretary and for four years afterwards?
Mr. Kennedy: I am not going to agree to not sue drug companies or anybody.
Senator Warren: So, let’s do a quick count here of how, as Secretary of HHS…you could influence every one of those lawsuits:
1. You could publish your anti-vaccine conspiracies…on U.S. government letterhead – something a jury might be impressed by.
2. You could appoint people to the CDC vaccine panel who share your anti-vax views and let them do your dirty work.
3. You could tell the CDC vaccine panel to remove a particular vaccine from the vaccine schedule.
4. You could remove vaccines from special compensation programs, which would open manufacturers to mass torts.
5. You could make more injuries eligible for compensation even if there’s no causal evidence.
6. You could change vaccine court processes to make it easier to bring junk lawsuits.
7. You could turn over FDA data to your friends at the law firm, and they could use it however it benefitted them.
Again, Senator Warren asked RFK Jr. to forgo a financial stake in lawsuits against vaccine makers while he was Secretary of HHS. Again, Kennedy demurred.
In February 2025, any hope that RFK Jr. would represent public health while heading HHS was dashed during a measles epidemic in West Texas that claimed lives of two people, one a six-year-old child. In an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News, RFK Jr. said that the measles vaccine kills people every year, that it causes deafness and blindness, and that it causes symptoms identical to natural measles. Even during a fatal measles epidemic, RFK Jr. remains deeply in the pocket of Big Anti-Vax.
RFK Jr. says he wants “radical transparency.” OK, Mr. Kennedy. Now it’s your turn.
Be careful Paul. Not everyone takes your word as gospel. You expose a lot of double standards and bias with this kind of attack which is getting old and tired.
"Big Anti-Vax"? What does "Big" mean to you? CHD paid him more than 300K in 2023. CHD offers arguments and research that counter an industry that, at least with regard to vaccines, has an air tight liability shield against any damages their products cause. You really don't think that it is valuable to have an organization that challenges that kind of hegemony? That industry makes hundreds of BILLIONS of dollars a year in revenue. Big Pharma, in other words, is a thousand times more powerful. You are a spokesperson for a behemoth going after the little guy. It's not a good look.
Many of the people who work at CHD are extremely intelligent and have medical training. Of them, there a large proportion who have both medical training and children who have been severely injured by vaccines. They aren't going away. I know. I worked for them for 18 months during the height of the pandemic. And I am a physician who trained at CHoP and UPENN and turned down an academic appointment there 23 years ago. I left a busy clinical practice to take an 80% pay cut to work for an organization that was doing the right thing. So please spare us this attack on CHD. I've spent a lot of hours at HUP and CHoP taking care of patients, walking through the pavilions and tastefully designed lobbies paid for by their marriage with the biggest lobbying industry in this country.
Be careful demanding transparency. To date, your piece of the Rotateq vaccine still is "undisclosed". Why don't YOU first tell us how much you made from that product? I am guessing it's a tad north of $300K. Would you agree?
"RFK Jr. has been steadfast, claiming that vaccines cause autism”.
More exaggeration. His claim has always been that we cannot rule out the possibility that vaccines may have very well led to autism in some situations. Without more research we cannot know. Vaccines are pro inflammatory. There is obviously more than one etiology behind autism and autism-like syndromes. It is generally accepted that it is largely an inflammatory process driven by heretofore unknown mechanisms. Ruling out vaccines without more data is wishful thinking.
“no vaccine is safe and effective”
You have to define what safe and effective is. Is it possible to have different standards? Obviously yes. You yourself in this article state that you have from time to time argued against other members of the ACIP and VRBPAC. Why is it okay for you to have different opinions but not him?
"In an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News, RFK Jr. said that the measles vaccine kills people every year, that it causes deafness and blindness, and that it causes symptoms identical to natural measles. Even during a fatal measles epidemic, RFK Jr. remains deeply in the pocket of Big Anti-Vax."
Are you hoping that none of your readers listen to that interview? Here is what he said:
1) He encouraged people to get the measles vaccine, but it is not without risk because it can cause harm. In other words, he believes the benefit outweighs the risk but don't be fooled by people like you who insist that the risk is zero. It isn't.
2) The measles vaccines wane in efficacy over time, approximately 4% per year. This means that older people, those who received a measles vaccine decades ago may not be as protected as they think.
3) Measles in children under the age of 1 is very dangerous. In the past, children of that age were protected by maternal antibodies that were robust. Now most mothers do not have natural immunity but vaccine acquired immunity which can wane. So there is a downside to a population that doesn't have natural immunity and it very well be leading to morbidity in the most vulnerable group: babies.
4) There have been dozens of measles outbreaks EVERY YEAR. This is nothing new. Why are you using your voice to stoke fear Paul? Do you have something to gain from this distortion of the historical record?
Nevertheless, Kennedy directed the HHS to provide vaccines to the people of TX in the wake of the outbreak. Please explain to us how you justify saying that "Even during a fatal measles epidemic, RFK Jr. remains deeply in the pocket of Big Anti-Vax."
I have attended these VRBPAC meetings remotely. Members are treated to an enormous amount of data that are summarized in complicated graphs and charts curated by the vaccine industry themselves. Almost every single time I have to scream at my computer "ASK a QUESTION FOR GD's SAKE". But no, it rarely happens. You and your fellow advisors simply accept that you are being told the truth and follow up questions are not necessary.
During the lunch hour the committee opens up the floor to public comments. The vast majority of the speakers are begging you to look closer because they are seeing terrible vax injuries in front of them. They cite data that backs them up. Never once have I ever heard you folks acknowledge what you heard. Why? Are you even there for that hour? It's incredible. It's shameful.
"RFK Jr. isn’t bound by science..."
You cannot be serious. You have blasted his book "The Real Anthony Fauci" many times, using it to make your case that he doesn't believe that germs cause disease. That is prima facie ridiculous. Most of the book is about SARS-COV2 and the pandemic. He goes very deep into the science behind pathogens and the their role in pandemics and outbreaks.
Here's a question: If he is all lies and no science, why didn't the vastly powerful pharma industry sue him for libel and expose him to the world? Especially in the autumn of 2021 when there was deep public distrust around anyone who challenged the safe and effective narrative?
Answer: Because the last thing they would want would be to have the evidence for his position offered in open court. That book is backed by over two thousand citations from peer reviewed papers and medical literature as well as statements from the CDC and other agencies of public health. What would happen if a court ruled in favor of Bobby? It's not a risk they were willing to take. They resort to having their spokespeople like you attack him and distort his position.
"...he has never given an unequivocal, hearty endorsement of any vaccine."
True. Why should he? There are harms associated with even the safest medical treatment. It's impossible to give unequivocal endorsement of something that can cause harm unless you are completely brainwashed.
Vaccines are probably the least safe of medical interventions which is even more troublesome because they are given as protective measures and not treatment. Safety standards should be higher when the product is given to a healthy child.
Paul, you have a chance to be a hero in this. Drop this charade. You still have a lot of credibility in the medical orthodoxy. Admit that you have, from time to time, exaggerated and distorted. We are all human and make mistakes. Integrity goes much further than being flawless.
You don't have to say vaccines are harmful or are responsible for many deaths. But in the interest of public health use your voice to disqualify those who scream that we don't need to reexamine things.
It may be possible to make much safer vaccines than we have. What if we devoted some money to identifying the subgroups of children who are prone to having a devastating reaction to a particular vaccine formulation and screened our children first? Maybe certain children need to have the shots spaced out some more. Maybe some need a different formulation. Maybe the risk/benefit profile doesn't favor a certain group.
Parents would be more confident that their child was being properly attended to. Confidence in the medical establishment would be restored. Fewer serious adverse reactions would result. More lives could be saved. Is it really too expensive to even try? How can we arrive at that conclusion when Big Pharma can pay hundreds of millions of dollars a year into advertising and yes, billions of dollars in penalties for harm?
In order to make that happen we need people like you to say sensible things and refrain from these kinds of hit pieces.
Excellent. Here’s a framework for him to reference while coming clean and squaring his own conflicts of interest:
• RFK Jr. has been a prominent anti-vaccination activist and founder of Children's Health Defense, an organization that questions vaccine safety
• He authored the book "The Real Anthony Fauci" which criticizes vaccination policies and public health responses
• He has repeatedly questioned established vaccine science, including claiming connections between vaccines and autism despite scientific consensus to the contrary
• His potential conflicts include his leadership roles in advocacy organizations that oppose vaccination policies he oversees as HHS Secretary
• His public statements about vaccines conflict with the scientific positions of agencies he leads, including the CDC and FDA
• He has financial interests through his anti-vaccine advocacy work, including book sales and fundraising for related organizations
• He has relationships with and support from anti-vaccine groups that could influence policy decisions
* Financial ties to vaccine litigation specifically: RFK Jr. has earned over $2.5 million in referral fees from the law firm WisnerBaum for anti-vaccine lawsuits, including cases against the HPV vaccine Gardasil. He retains a 10% contingency fee from successful cases, which he planned to maintain while serving as HHS Secretary.
•Influence on vaccine-related decisions: As HHS Secretary, Kennedy could potentially sway vaccine-related policies and litigation outcomes, benefiting financially through his arrangement with WisnerBaum.
•Potential misuse of authority: Concerns have been raised that Kennedy might use his position to disseminate anti-vaccine rhetoric, appoint vaccine skeptics to advisory panels, or share FDA data with WisnerBaum to strengthen litigation against pharmaceutical companies