As secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services, Kennedy oversees the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—all of which Kennedy is currently driving into the ground, according to The Lancet. His “politicization at the NIH, FDA, and CDC is imperiling the future of US science and innovation and throttling the public health enterprise that keeps the country safe today,” the board wrote.
Kennedy has orchestrated an unprecedented overhaul of the CDC’s childhood vaccine recommendations, which has been rejected by more than half of US states. He granted $1.6 million for a vaccine trial in Guinea-Bissau that the World Health Organization called “unethical,” comparing it to the shameful Untreated Syphilis Study at Tuskegee. Under Kennedy, HHS has “made a habit of throwing good money after bad science,” and elevated “junk science and fringe beliefs,” the editorial states. Meanwhile, promising research, including on mRNA technology, and critical disease monitoring, such as for explosive cases of measles and pertussis (whooping cough), are being abandoned or neglected.
In all, The Lancet joined a chorus of voices in the medical and scientific community calling for Kennedy’s resignation and for Congress to hold him accountable.
While the medical journal had no kind words for Kennedy, the feeling is mutual. In the past, Kennedy has assailed top medical journals, including The Lancet, as “corrupt” for being influenced by the pharmaceutical industry—a common attack Kennedy uses against his critics.
