RFK Jr. Says CDC Shakeup Was ‘Absolutely Necessary,’ Defends Covid Booster Approval Shift

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. arrives to testify before the Senate Finance Committee at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Thursday. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

In a heated grilling by members of the Senate Finance Committee, Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. defended the shake-up at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention while reiterating his drive to lower the rate of chronic disease in America.

After RFK Jr. fired all members of a CDC advisory panel on vaccines in June, President Donald Trump fired the agency’s director last week. On Thursday, RFK Jr. said the shake-up was “absolutely necessary” due to conflicts of interest. He added that the CDC “failed Americans miserably during Covid” and that it was the most corrupt agency within the health department.

Top Democrats on the committee criticized the health secretary for creating confusion on vaccines right as the school year begins, including narrower Covid vaccine approvals announced in August.

Kennedy conceded that the ability for anyone to get a Covid vaccine from a pharmacy for free will vary by state, when asked by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts.

“You should resign,” Warren said.

Sen. Raphael Warnock, a Democrat from Georgia, also called for Kennedy’s resignation for what he called “extremist beliefs.” He added, “You are a hazard to the health of the American people. I think you ought to resign.”

Kennedy said he was “pro science” and that changing circumstances around the Covid virus, such as higher immunity due to prior exposure, require a new approach to health policy regarding it.

He also cast doubt on the number of Americans who died from Covid. When asked by Sen. Mark Warner, a Democrat from Virginia, if he believed that a million people in the U.S. had died from Covid, Kennedy said, “I don’t think anybody knows.”

Write to Anita Hamilton at anita.hamilton@barrons.com