Robert F. Kennedy Jr. needs to take responsibility for public health chaos
The United States is nearly nine months into the “Make America Healthy Again” era, but recent federal and state policy changes and proposals sow more confusion over who Americans can trust about important medical decisions.
Two states — Utah and Florida — banned fluoride from the public water supply this year despite decades of research showing the positive effect on dental health.
Florida’s top leaders now want to eliminate school vaccine mandates in spite of a deadly national measles outbreak — the largest in 30 years.
Add to that the U.S. Senate Finance Committee hearing on Sept. 4 featuring the nation’s top health official — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — in which his combative exchanges with senators overshadowed any attempts at clarity.
By the end of this presidential administration, Americans may end up becoming more disoriented about how to stay healthy than actually how to get healthier.
Americans’ health already fares worse than citizens of fellow wealthy nations, even though the U.S. spends nearly double on health care, according to a 2024 Kaiser Family Foundation report.
RFJ Jr. called CDC ‘corrupt’ even after the fatal shooting
At the heart of the confusion is the demonization of public health workers, which threatens the relationship between patients and their health providers and puts other Americans at risk, especially when it comes to communicable diseases and future pandemics.
Kennedy, a vaccine skeptic, has undermined trust in scientists, doctors and health workers through his words and actions.
During his Senate hearing, he called the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention the “most corrupt” public health agency despite offering no evidence. He could not answer a question on how many Americans have died of COVID (1.23 million as of Aug. 16).
Over the last several months, the Trump administration, through the Department of Government Efficiency and HHS, laid off or fired at least 600 workers at the agency responsible for promoting and protecting Americans’ health — and harming the nation’s ability to keep the public informed about key health statistics.
After an assailant shot hundreds of rounds into CDC offices on Aug. 8, RFK Jr. visited Atlanta to assess the damage.
When he testified before the Senate, Kennedy honored the memory of DeKalb County Police Officer David Rose, who died in the line of duty when he confronted the shooter.
That was a noble thing to do. But the secretary also had an obligation to protect the integrity, dignity and humanity of CDC workers who work in his Cabinet department instead of lumping them all together as a bunch of bad apples out to do Americans harm.
They deserve better, and so does the nation.
But Kennedy instead chose to serve as an agent of chaos under the guise of cleaning house.
He recently fired every member of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to replace them with appointees to his liking. “A clean sweep is necessary to reestablish public confidence in vaccine science,” he said in an HHS news release.
In August, he initiated the firing of former CDC Director Dr. Susan Monarez, whom the Senate confirmed to the post only one month before.
That led to resignations by top CDC officials, compounding the confusion.
In a Sept. 4 Wall Street Journal guest opinion essay, Monarez said as CDC workers were recovering from the trauma of the Aug. 8 shooting, “I was confronted with another challenge — pressure to compromise science itself.”
She urged Americans to “hold the line” on science and the facts.
But just a week before, on Aug. 27, the Food and Drug Administration — an agency within HHS — announced new guidelines for COVID boosters, limiting who can receive a vaccine to older Americans (65-plus-year-olds) and younger people and children with underlying health conditions — alarming medical professionals.
In effect, Kennedy limited the ability of Americans who wish to remain healthy to protect their well-being.
Much like he did during the Senate hearing, he might call these characterizations lies and “gibberish,” but his actions speak loudly.
Trump administration abandoned its COVID vaccine victory
COVID pandemic era mandates on school and business shutdowns, masks and vaccine requirements created a backlash from citizens and elected officials who believe they were resisting government overreach.
There are many lessons that this country needs to learn from what worked and what failed during that time.
What is clear, though, is that the pandemic was deadly and also life-altering to the 6% of people who continue to experience complications and disability from long COVID.
What is also true is that the first vaccines rolled out quickly under the first Trump administration — a life-saving achievement that the White House now distanced itself from for political reasons despite the science.
Kennedy’s embarrassing Senate testimony shows he is looking for scapegoats and not solutions.
Georgia’s U.S. Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock both have called for his resignation.
While critics may dismiss their calls as Democratic partisanship, there is clearly a problem at HHS — and it comes from the top. Republican senators see it, too. Now, they have an obligation to act to seek new leadership.
David Plazas is the opinion editor at the AJC. Email him at mailto:david.plazas@ajc.com.
About the Author
David Plazas joined The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in May 2025 after a 25-year award-winning career as a reporter, editor and opinion editor for The News-Press in Fort Myers, Florida, and most recently, The Tennessean in Nashville, Tennessee, as an opinion writer and editor, video podcast host, newsletter writer and sought-after moderator.
