Senator Cassidy Calls Out RFK Jr.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, MD (R-La.), who recently lost his primary bid for reelection, is speaking up a little louder about Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s wariness of vaccines.

“A terrible outcome from RFK and others promoting vaccine skepticism,” Cassidy said Thursday in a social media post containing a link to a New York Times story that outlined physician concerns about a resurgence in vaccine-preventable diseases in the wake of declining childhood vaccination rates.

“The concern among doctors comes on the heels of a resurgence of measles nationwide, fueled by distrust in vaccines that grew during the COVID-19 pandemic, and that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and President Trump have amplified,” the article noted. “Public health experts have long seen measles as a harbinger: Because it is so exceptionally contagious, it can be the first disease to spike as vaccination rates broadly decline, and a sign of more to come.”

“For some of these diseases, national data show clear and substantial increases in recent years; for others, the increases are small, or there are anecdotal indications from doctors on the ground of increases that public statistics don’t currently confirm,” the authors wrote. “While most children recover, these diseases aren’t benign. Many children endure extended hospitalizations. Some infections can be fatal.”

Cassidy’s office did not respond by press time to a request for comment.

When asked for his agency’s response, HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon referred MedPage Today to his comment in the New York Times story:

“Secretary Kennedy believes Americans deserve clear information about both the benefits and risks of medical products so they can make informed healthcare decisions in consultation with their healthcare providers,” he said. “Public trust in health institutions declined significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly amid heavy-handed mandates and inconsistent public health messaging during the Biden administration. The secretary maintains that public health agencies rebuild trust through honesty, transparency, and respect for individual choice — not coercion.”

Cassidy earlier said he endorsed Kennedy after extracting pledges that he wouldn’t tinker with the nation’s vaccination program. But since taking office, Kennedy has largely ignored those promises, and Cassidy hasn’t publicly rebuked him.

Former Texas congressman Michael Burgess, MD (R), served for years with Cassidy in the House, where they were founding members of the GOP Doctors Caucus, started in 2009. In a story for KFF Health News, Burgess said Cassidy’s discomfort with some of Kennedy’s actions is palpable.

“You could hear some of the pain in Sen. Cassidy’s voice when he was addressing that the secretary wanted to drop the birth dose of hepatitis B,” Burgess said. Cassidy practiced as a hepatologist before becoming a lawmaker.

“You got cases to nearly zero on hepatitis B. It was painful to him to think about taking this away from the population,” said Burgess.