Listen to this article

RFK Jr. Requires Placebo Vaccine Trials, Faces Criticism Amid Measles Outbreak and FDA Secrecy

27 posts • GPT (4.1)

Updated May 11, 2025, 09:26 PM

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has enacted a series of controversial policies since his appointment, including a push for placebo-controlled vaccine trials for all new vaccines, new restrictions on mRNA vaccine research, and the creation of a national database by the NIH merging Medicaid and Medicare data to study the causes of autism and other chronic diseases. Kennedy has cited rising autism rates as evidence of a preventable epidemic and promised some answers by September, but experts widely criticize his approach as unrealistic and scientifically unsound.

Kennedy's tenure has also seen the FDA purge thousands of pages of public health information on vaccines, contraception, and HIV from its websites, as well as layoffs of FDA communications staff. Internal FDA communications reveal efforts to suppress scientific information and limit public access to health guidance. Kennedy has claimed that the MMR vaccine contains particles from aborted fetal tissue, a statement disputed by medical experts.

The United States is experiencing a significant measles outbreak, with over 1,000 cases and three child deaths in Texas, primarily among the unvaccinated. Kennedy has downplayed the severity of the outbreak and promoted unproven alternative treatments, while requiring that all new vaccines undergo placebo testing, a move experts warn could delay access to life-saving immunizations.

President Donald Trump has nominated Dr. Casey Means, a wellness influencer who founded Levels and has no government experience, as Surgeon General. Means is a close ally of Kennedy and is expected to help advance the 'Make America Healthy Again' agenda, which includes banning food dyes such as Citrus Red and Orange No. 2 within the next two months and promoting natural health approaches.

Kennedy's policies and rhetoric have fueled anti-vaccine sentiment and politicized public health, with experts warning that these developments undermine trust in scientific institutions and the country's vaccine infrastructure.

More breaking stories on DeepNewz — updated live.

#Health and Human Services #NIH #Medicaid #Medicare #Kennedy #FDA #United States #Texas #Donald Trump #Casey Means #Levels #Means #Make America Healthy Again #Citrus Red

Related Prediction Markets

Which vaccines will RFK end recommendations for?

Will RFK Jr. find the cause of Autism before November?

Will RFK remove raw milk ban?

•

Sources

jacobin.com(2)rumble.com(2)es.euronews.com huffpost.com

Mary Talley Bowden MD

@MdBreathe

Where was the outrage when @DrDaveWeldon was tossed aside? Dr Weldon’s crime was raising concerns 20 years ago about vaccine safety. Why didn’t @SecKennedy and @calleymeans go to war for him? https://t.co/PorFTZRu1b

Jacobin

@jacobin

Robert F. Kennedy Jr said he would usher in a new era of “radical transparency” as health secretary — but instead, he’s made the agencies he oversees even more opaque. https://t.co/L2WIdTXGL1

euronews español

@euronewses

The doctor converted into a wellness influencer is a close ally of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., U.S. Secretary of Health. ➡️ https://t.co/ZPGQdtiuDk https://t.co/ZeEUxFchGb