WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 30: Robert F. Kennedy Jr., U.S. President Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services testifies during his Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions confirmation hearing in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
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During a contentious interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” show with Dana Bash on August 2, 2026, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made several claims about COVID-19, vaccines and measles. Many of Kennedy’s statements conflict with the current scientific evidence and decades of epidemiologic research. Here are some of the statements that were factually inaccurate.
COVID-19 Deaths
In the interview, Kennedy stated, “We have the highest death rate from COVID”, referring to the United States as a country. The U.S. does not even rank in the top 10 for highest death rates from COVID-19, according to Johns Hopkins University. The United States’ case fatality rate from COVID-19 was 1.1%, compared to the highest country Peru which was 4.9%.
COVID-19 Vaccines And Children
Secretary Kennedy also suggested that COVID-19 vaccines were not beneficial for children. In the interview, he emphatically asked, “can you show me one study that shows that children were protected by the COVID vaccine?”.
There are many studies that have unequivocally demonstrated that COVID-19 vaccines decreased hospitalization and severe illnesses from COVID-19 for children and adolescents. In fact, a study published in the CDC’s own Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report showed the vaccine reduced the risk of emergency and urgency care visits for children 9 months to 4 years of age by 76%. In addition, the vaccine also reduced the risk of such visits for children between the ages of 5 to 17 by 56%.
Vaccines And Autism
The interview also revisited the long-debunked question of vaccines and autism. When discussing the issue, Kennedy states to Bash, “you are wrong when you say this issue has been studied”.
In fact, this has been one of the most extensively studied questions in modern medicine, and decades of research across multiple countries and millions of individuals have unequivocally asserted that vaccines do not cause autism. Specifically, a recent Danish study that involved more than one million children found no link between vaccines and autism.
Measles
Another notable exchange centered on the current measles outbreak, where nearly 2,400 children have been diagnosed with measles this year, the most in more than three decades. Kennedy denied responsibility for the outbreak while arguing that pandemic disruptions contributed to lower vaccination rates. This is partly true as the COVID-19 pandemic did interrupt routine childhood immunizations worldwide, leading to millions of missed vaccine doses, approximately 23 million according to UNICEF.
However, that explanation alone is incomplete. Measles outbreaks occur when vaccination rates fall below herd immunity rates of 95%. Vaccine hesitancy, misinformation and declining MMR vaccinate rates have all contributed to the outbreak in the U.S. with less than 1% of cases being imported into the U.S. internationally. As Kennedy has spent years questioning vaccine hesitancy before becoming HHS Secretary, this messaging from an extremely influential health leader may have also contributed to vaccine hesitancy and declining vaccination rates.
As the nation’s top health official, Kennedy’s words matter and carry enormous influence. Public debate about pandemic policy, vaccines and government decision-making is healthy and what makes the U.S. a thriving democracy. However, when discussions are not grounded in evidence, misinformation can be propagated and can do real harm to the general public. In public health, confidence and trust emerge through transparent data, science and evidence.