Friday, September 18, 2026
RFK Jr. returns to his old anti-vaccine group
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. gave the keynote Thursday at Children’s Health Defense, the anti-vaccine group he chaired for years. He told the crowd it had “a strong and steadfast friend in the White House.” It is the worst US measles year since 1991. Pennsylvania’s governor said he should have urged people to get vaccinated.
The country’s top health boss gave a speech to a group that doesn’t trust vaccines. Vaccines are the shots you get at the doctor, a practice drill so your body knows the germ before the real one shows up. Almost all doctors say the shots work and keep kids safe. The grown-ups have it.
Why it worksA practice drill is the whole idea of a vaccine and it is not frightening, which is why the script spends its words there rather than on the speech. A five-year-old who hears this needs to know their shots work. Expect “do I still have to get one?” Yes. Almost every doctor says so, and that is the line.
- “Do I still have to get my shots?”
- Yes. Almost every doctor says shots keep you safe from germs like measles. Nothing changes for you.
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The top health official gave the keynote at Children’s Health Defense, an anti-vaccine group he once led. Doctors’ groups say that talk makes parents doubt the shots in the worst measles year since 1991. Like a lifeguard saying life jackets might fail.
Why it worksFour links, and the last one is a real outbreak, so the chain has a consequence they can check. The lifeguard makes the point without calling anyone a liar: it matters who is saying it. Expect “is he right?” Doctors’ groups say no, and the script names who disagrees rather than settling it.
- “What is Children’s Health Defense?”
- A group that argues vaccines are unsafe. Kennedy led it for years and went back Thursday to give the big speech.
- “Why is measles back?”
- Worst measles year since 1991, with seven deaths in two years. Pennsylvania’s four this year were all unvaccinated.
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Is it OK to doubt vaccines? Kennedy says he is only asking the questions parents ask. Doctors’ groups say the questions themselves spread doubt in the worst measles year since 1991. Where does asking end and undermining begin?
Why it worksThey know “just asking questions” from the internet, so this one starts where they live. A teenager can hold a real right to ask and a real effect from asking, which is the argument. Deanna Kuhn’s point is that they get better at it by arguing with someone who takes their answers seriously.
- “Is it OK to doubt vaccines?”
- He says he’s only asking questions. He cut the childhood shot schedule, which a judge halted, and Trump ordered the MMR shot spaced out.
- “Who spoke after him?”
- Andrew Wakefield, author of the retracted study linking the MMR vaccine to autism. Decades of studies found no link.
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Based on the headline: RFK Jr. returns to his old anti-vaccine group