Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the former Food and Drug Administration commissioner, expressed concern on Friday about Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s agenda for the Department of Health and Human Services.
“I think if RFK follows through on his intentions, and I believe he will, and I believe he can, it will cost lives in this country,” Gottlieb told CNBC, referring to Kennedy, whom President-elect Donald Trump has said he will nominate for health secretary.
“You’re going to see measles, mumps, and rubella vaccination rates go down,” said Gottlieb, who led the FDA during Trump’s first administration. “And, as I previously stated, if we lose another 5%, which could occur within the next year or two, we will see widespread measles outbreaks.
For every 1,000 cases of measles in children, one person will die. And this country isn’t very good at diagnosing and treating measles.
If confirmed as HHS secretary, Kennedy’s responsibilities would include oversight of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, and the Food and Drug Administration, which is in charge of reviewing and approving new vaccines.
Gottlieb cited Kennedy’s long history of vaccine skepticism, including false claims that the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine causes autism.
It’s a widely discredited theory that stems from a study conducted in the 1990s by a researcher who later lost his medical license.
According to the center, “to date, the studies continue to show that vaccines are not associated with [autism spectrum disorder].”Kennedy has also questioned the efficacy of the Covid vaccines, which health officials say are overwhelmingly safe.
In a 2021 meeting with Louisiana state legislators, Kennedy falsely referred to the coronavirus vaccine as “the deadliest vaccine ever made.”
In the days after Trump was expected to retake the White House, Kennedy told NBC News that he would not seek to unilaterally ban vaccines.
“If vaccines are effective for someone, I’m not going to take them away. People should have a choice, and that choice should be based on the best available information,” he said. “So I’m going to make sure scientific safety studies and efficacy are out there, and people can make individual assessments about whether that product is going to be good for them.”
Gottlieb also alluded to some of Kennedy’s other controversial ideas as reasons why some Republican senators may be reluctant to vote to confirm him in January, including his position on abortion.
“I think that there’s skepticism in the Republican caucus more than I think the press is reporting right now,” Gottlieb said.
“There will be [agricultural] state senators who are concerned about his influence on food prices. There will be principled pro-lifers who are concerned about his abortion positions, as well as a number of public health-minded senators who are deeply concerned about his vaccine position,” the former FDA commissioner continued.
Gottlieb also disputed the notion that Kennedy would not make significant changes to US health policy, saying, “I’m not sure that people really understand how Kennedy’s intention is going to translate into policy and how serious he is.”
To back up his point, Gottlieb quoted one of Kennedy’s advisers, Del Bigtree, who said in November, “Bobby didn’t get dragged through the mud for over a decade just so he could compromise his values once he finally got inside the castle.”
Gottlieb added that, while he cannot speak for the president-elect, he is confident that Trump does not share Kennedy’s views on vaccines.
“I talked to President Trump about vaccines in my first term,” Gottlieb admitted. “I don’t believe these policy efforts reflect his views as well. I don’t believe the president wants to see a resurgence of measles or whooping cough in this country, let alone cases of polio. He doesn’t want to see that.
Representatives from the Trump transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Gottlieb’s remarks.