A Health Secretary’s Speech: What It Means for Vaccine Questions

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. serves as the United States health secretary and he gave a keynote speech at a Children’s Health Defense conference in Washington, D.C., on September 17, 2026. He spoke about food safety and nutrition at first, but then he turned to vaccines. He told the audience, “You have a strong and steadfast friend at the White House.” The conference was attended by several speakers who questioned vaccine safety, and one speaker called the success of the polio vaccine a “fraud.”

The event took place while the United States has seen its highest number of measles cases in 35 years, and public health officials have warned about falling vaccination rates. Although Kennedy avoided some of his more extreme claims during part of the speech, he also promised to press for investigations and for more attention to vaccine injuries. Many clinicians and health groups have expressed concern because federal health messages are being reshaped while outbreaks spread. Experts have raised concerns about that change.