WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Jack Reed, a longtime champion for children’s health and childhood immunization programs, today issued a statement opposing President Trump’s nomination of anti-vaccination advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).  Reed stated:

“The Department of Health and Human Services helps protect public health and the safety of our nation’s food and drug supply.

“After carefully reviewing Mr. Kennedy’s record, and noting his history of stoking dangerous conspiracy theories and making false claims about vaccine safety, I strongly oppose his nomination. 

“Putting him in charge of HHS would be hazardous to children’s health and could lead to a resurgence in measles and other childhood diseases that cause serious illness and endanger lives.”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently reported that routine childhood vaccinations in America have prevented over 1.1 million deaths, more than 500 million cases of illness and over 32 million hospitalizations over the past 30 years.