You’ve Got a Friend in Me

Influenza virus can rest assured that RFK Jr. will continue to have its back

In February 2025, soon after being confirmed as Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cancelled the CDC’s promotional campaign for influenza vaccination called “Wild to Mild.” Then, on January 7, 2025, on CBS News (watch here), he took his promotion of influenza virus one step further, arguing it would be “better” if children didn’t get the influenza vaccine. Given that about 300 children have died from influenza infections this past season, that 17 more have died this year, that almost all were unvaccinated, and that we haven’t seen that many children die from influenza since the last flu pandemic, why would he say that?

Kennedy claimed that the Cochrane Collaboration, a U.K.-based health research association, had reviewed the subject and found “no evidence that that the flu vaccine prevents serious disease or that it prevents hospitalizations or deaths in children.” Kennedy failed to note the serious flaw in Cochrane’s review. Specifically, that they ignored the many observational studies that are the single best way to determine real-world vaccine effectiveness.

Recent studies of influenza vaccine in children directly contradict Kennedy’s claims. For example, a U.S. study done during the 2023-2024 season found that the influenza vaccine was 52-61 percent effective in preventing hospitalizations in children. Similarly, a U.S. study done during the 2024-2025 influenza season found that the vaccine was 63-78 percent effective at preventing hospitalizations in children. Finally, a U.S. study performed during the 2025-2026 influenza season found that the vaccine was 67 percent effective at preventing hospitalizations in children.

We are currently in the midst of an influenza season that has caused about 11 million illnesses, 120,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths, with a few more months of winter left to go. Nonetheless, our Secretary of Health and Human Services has chosen this moment to tell us that children might be “better off” if they didn’t get an influenza vaccine that has been proven to be safe and effective. When will someone in power finally stand up for the health of children in this country? When will they insist that this dangerously irresponsible man should step down as our nation’s leading public health official?

In 2010, a documentary about the inadequacies of public school education in the United States debuted. It was called “Waiting for Superman.” The narrator was Geoffrey Canada, who recounted his journey as an educator and how, as a child living in reduced circumstances, he was waiting for Superman to come save him. Later, he was devastated to learn that Superman was a fictional character and that “there was no one coming with enough power to save us.” That’s how I feel about the U.S. Congress. As a child, I believed that Congress was a powerful force that would protect us. However, like Geoffrey Canada, I, too, have been disheartened to learn that Congress, also, appears to be a fictional character.

In the meantime, while we’re waiting for Superman, the best we can do is ignore RFK Jr. and his science-resistant, anti-vaccine recommendations. It’s too bad that when he said, “I don’t think people should take medical advice from me,” he didn’t mean it. Yet another in his long list of lies.