Nomination of Robert F. Kennedy jnr to health role alarms NZ public health experts

Robert F. Kennedy jnr, a prominent anti-vaccine activist, has been nominated for US Health Secretary. That could have global repercussions right down to NZ and the Pacific. Photo / New York Times

The nomination of vaccine sceptic Robert F. Kennedy jnr to the top health role in the United States has alarmed public health experts, who say it will probably damage efforts to protect against infectious diseases in New Zealand and the Pacific.

Samoan health authorities were especially concerned about his appointment, pointing to his alleged role in contributing to vaccine hesitancy before the devastating 2019 measles epidemic.

US President-elect Donald Trump nominated Kennedy as his Health Secretary last week. A former presidential candidate with a background as an environmental lawyer, he is one of the highest-profile anti-vaccination activists in the world.

His appointment would be felt everywhere, experts told the Herald.

“It’s something that’s going to impact all of us across the world,” said Dr Helen Petousis-Harris, vaccinologist at the University of Auckland and co-director of the Global Vaccine Data Network.

“The whole global community are talking about it. And certainly, colleagues in the United States … are really quite rocked by it because they know that essentially, they are seeing the unravelling of all the effort and the work that’s gone on.”

Vaccinologist Helen Petousis-Harris says anti-vaccination disinformation could erode trust in institutions, paving the way for an outbreak. Photo / RNZ

“You’re talking about a very high-profile position of someone who doesn’t use critical analysis and evidence in his thinking,” said Dr Nikki Turner, principal medical adviser of the Immunisation Advisory Centre. “So, I think anybody in health services should be deeply worried about that.

“I think the issue is the undermining of people’s confidence in science and government decisions around science. Science is not perfect, but science is the best we’ve got for making clear decisions for people’s health, and to suddenly decide that personal rhetoric and people’s opinions are more powerful is very scary.”

Several experts cited Kennedy’s peripheral role in a 2019 measles epidemic in Samoa that infected more than 5000 people and killed 83, mostly young children. Herald reporting at the time showed how some small villages lost more than 10 babies to the disease.

Vaccination rates had plummeted to only 30% in the country before the outbreak. That was primarily blamed on a scandal the previous year when two babies died after nurses mixed their measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine with muscle relaxant instead of water. The immunisation programme was briefly suspended and the nurses were jailed for negligence.

Anti-vaccination activists jumped on the scandal to claim vaccines were unsafe. Months before the deadly outbreak, Kennedy visited Samoa, met with local activists and supported them publicly. His charity, Children’s Defence Fund, spread misinformation about vaccines and wrote to Samoan authorities, questioning the safety of the MMR vaccine.

In a documentary released last year, Shot in the Arm, Kennedy said he had “nothing to do with people not vaccinating in Samoa”. He said he never told anybody not to vaccinate and did not go to the country for that purpose.

Petousis-Harris, however, said this approach was straight out of the disinformation playbook. He would not say he was anti-vaccine, but he spread false and conflicting information that gradually eroded trust in institutions and health services. The inevitable, eventual result was another outbreak.

“Measles will be the canary in the mine,” she said. “I think we’ll see that one that will be one of the first things to blow out as the impact of the activities in the US start to impact the rest of the world.”

Dr Robert Thomsen, Samoa’s Director of Public Health during the 2019 epidemic, said he did not believe Kennedy played a significant role in the crisis. But Kennedy helped to “stir up” some people in Samoa and validate their belief the vaccine was dangerous, he said.

Thomsen, who is now acting chief executive of the Ministry of Health, was more concerned about the new US administration’s potential influence on organisations like the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) that worked closely with Samoan health authorities and provided health programmes in the Pacific.

Measles rates have begun rising around the world and New Zealand officials are on high alert for another outbreak here because of persistently low childhood immunisation rates. The last outbreak, in 2019, hospitalised 700 people in New Zealand and was probably exported to Samoa.

The MMR vaccine is 95% effective after one dose and 99% after two doses, making it one of the most effective vaccines available.

Isaac Davison is an Auckland-based reporter who covers health issues. He joined the Herald in 2008 and has previously covered the environment, politics and social issues.

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