When Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Proposed Controversial Vaccine Theories With Distorted Facts

Children's Health Defense Chairman Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had asked President Joe Biden in a letter to repair the "catastrophically inefficient" system for handling vaccine problems. "The sad reality is vaccines cause injuries and death. In the two and one-half months since the U.S. began our COVID vaccination program, there have been 31,079 injuries and 1,524 deaths reported after the COVID vaccine. What is also undeniable is that the U.S. is not doing enough to find out more about these injuries and deaths, and why some people are more susceptible than others to injury. In this age of individualized medicine, a mass vaccination program that abdicates all responsibility to protect vulnerable subgroups is reckless and unethical," Kennedy Jr. wrote in the letter dated March 15, 2021. 

As per Scientific American, Kennedy Jr. rose to prominence in the anti-vaccine movement in 2005 after writing a similar distorted piece that claimed there was a vast conspiracy involving Thimerosal, a preservative based on mercury that had been eliminated from all kid immunizations in 2001 except-filed specific strains of the flu vaccine. The Democratic leader who declared his bid for the presidency of the United States in 2024 on April 19, 2023, has opposed vaccinations throughout his political and activism career. He is also the well-known author of the bestseller called The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health. As per Insider, Kennedy Jr. is one of many well-known anti-vaccine leaders who spread the myth that the COVID-19 vaccine has killed more people than the virus itself. "The more vaccines you get," Kennedy said on The Joe Rogan's Experience podcast, "the more likely it is that you're going to get sick."  

The Kennedy family political scion has also frequently cited rising autism rates as proof that modern children's immunization regimens have contributed to an increase in autistic cases. As per AP News, according to reports submitted to charity inspectors, Kennedy Jr.' Children's Health Defense flourished throughout the pandemic, with income more than doubling to $6.8 million in 2020. However, the foundation which was established in 2011 was de-platformed from Instagram and Facebook for spreading falsehood and misinformation. As per CBS News, the Children's Health Defense published a media statement in 2022 Sharing screenshots of the notices it received, it claimed that it was abruptly removed from the social media platforms. Facebook notified users that the page had been taken down because it violated the community rules for spreading false information."We encourage free expression, but don't allow false information about COVID-19 that could contribute to physical harm," the notification read.

On its website, CHD published articles disputing the CDC and the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines, which are safe and efficacious with 223,684,995 Americans fully immunized. In a statement, Kennedy Jr. had criticized the move saying, "We don't need the First Amendment to protect popular or government-approved speech. They incorporated the First Amendment specifically to protect the free expression of dissenting opinions. They understood that a government that can silence its critics has a license for every atrocity," he said back then.

Kennedy Jr. has since changed his position and stated that he is not opposed to vaccinations, as a result of his increasing popularity in the presidential race. As per NYPost, in June 2023 while speaking to Lydia from On The Money, he had exclusively said: "I urge people to listen to what I actually say instead of listening to the litany of derisive sound bites that the mainstream media offers to mischaracterize and distort my positions on the whole range of issues. I am not and have never been anti-vaccine. I’ve always said that I’m for safe vaccines and robust science and for regulatory agencies that are free from conflicts of interest and financial entanglements with the pharmaceutical industry. In terms of being a conspiracy theorist, tell me where I got it wrong. Show me something I’ve said that you believe to be factually wrong or unsupported by evidence."