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    "original_url": "https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/09\/17\/health\/kennedy-vaccines-childrens-health-defense.html?emc=edit_nn_20260918&nl=the-morning&segment_id=226681",
    "parsed_content": "Measles OutbreaksDeaths in PennsylvaniaRecord Cases in U.S.Search for TreatmentVideo: Vaccine SkepticismLong-Term Health RisksAdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTSupported bySKIP ADVERTISEMENTKennedy Assures Vaccine Skeptics That They Have a \u2018Friend at the White House\u2019The health secretary spoke at a conference featuring misinformation about vaccines, including a claim that the success of the polio vaccines was a \u201cfraud.\u201dListen \u00b7 6:41 min Share full articleVideoRFK Jr. Tells Anti-Vaccine Group They Have a \u2018Friend at the White House\u2019Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday assured an anti-vaccine nonprofit he founded that they had a \u201cfriend at the White House.\u201dCreditCredit...ReutersBy Christina Jewett and Teddy RosenbluthReporting from WashingtonSept. 17, 2026See more of our coverage in your search results.Encuentra m\u00e1s de nuestra cobertura en los resultados de b\u00fasqueda. Add The New York Times on GoogleAgrega The New York Times en Google Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday told members of the anti-vaccine group he founded that they had \u201ca strong and steadfast friend at the White House\u201d and that he would \u201cdie with my boots on\u201d pursuing answers about the risks of vaccines.His remarks, to a convention of Children\u2019s Health Defense, signaled a notable shift from earlier this year when White House officials and political advisers had pushed Mr. Kennedy to sidestep the vaccine issue, given widespread support among voters for protecting children against deadly diseases. They came just one day after President Trump\u2019s nominee for surgeon general, Dr. Nicole Saphier, gave a full-throated defense of the safety and efficacy of vaccines during her Senate confirmation hearing.But Mr. Kennedy, after spending the first part of his speech on the far more politically popular topics of food safety and nutrition, plunged headlong into vaccines, in a conference riddled with misinformation and references to discredited studies.The speaker before Mr. Kennedy was Mark Gorton, the president of the MAHA Institute, who called the success of the polio vaccine a \u201cfraud,\u201d priming the audience for the remarks of their former leader, who railed against vaccines for two decades. The speaker after him was Andrew Wakefield, a discredited British doctor whose retracted paper linked the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine with autism. Decades of research have proved that finding to be wrong.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTWith the midterm elections less than two months away and Republicans struggling in the polls, Mr. Kennedy has been trying to rally followers of his Make America Healthy Again movement, some of whom have expressed impatience with the pace of his policy changes.He promised the crowd that he would \u201cbe in this fight\u201d to the end, and said the work he was doing was methodical. He added that his team was launching studies after which, he said, \u201cwe will take appropriate action.\u201dHe also generated applause when he announced that he would be looking at the health effects of electromagnetic radiation and so-called chemtrails, the trails left by airplanes that the Environmental Protection Agency has said are actually condensation, not chemicals.Despite worries from his political advisers, Mr. Trump himself has recently jumped into the vaccine debate. Last month he signed an executive order that called for limiting the number of vaccines given to children. In a White House signing ceremony filled with misinformation, he falsely described the measles shot as \u201clethal.\u201d Under persistent questioning, Dr. Mehmet Oz, one of the administration\u2019s top health officials, corrected the president\u2019s statement in an interview on CBS\u2019s \u201cFace the Nation\u201d: \u201cThe M.M.R. vaccine is not a lethal vaccine.\u201dThe support from the president appears to have emboldened Mr. Kennedy to play a star role at the Washington conference of his former nonprofit.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTMr. Kennedy was absent from the group\u2019s conference in Texas last year when Mr. Gorton, whose group works to advance Mr. Kennedy\u2019s agenda, exhorted the crowd of about 1,000 \u201cto be more boldly anti-vax.\u201d On Thursday, Mr. Gorton said that \u201cthe success of the polio vaccine was a massive medical fraud\u201d and that widespread vaccination was a \u201cpublic health disaster.\u201d He received a standing ovation.Sign up for the On Politics newsletter. It's a pivotal moment for American politics. Join us for 2026 and beyond. Get it sent to your inbox.Mr. Kennedy spoke next, linking arms with the group even as measles cases continue to rise, surpassing a 35-year record with about 3,300 cases. Officials in Pennsylvania reported a fourth measles death this week, adding an 18-year-old to a list that included two infants and a woman who was 40. The adults were both unvaccinated, and the infants were too young to receive the vaccine.After the announcement of the first deaths, Mr. Kennedy publicly questioned whether measles played a role and suggested the deaths may have been \u201cfabricated.\u201d The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which he oversees, has refused to acknowledge them and is currently reporting no measles deaths for 2026.Mr. Kennedy\u2019s appearance at the conference sparked a fresh round of criticism from Josh Shapiro, the governor of Pennsylvania, who had sparred with Mr. Kennedy in recent days over the measles death reports.\u201cIn the midst of the largest and deadliest measles outbreak in America in 35 years, RFK Jr. chose to spend his time today addressing the premier vaccine-denial conference in America,\u201d Mr. Shapiro said in a social media post. \u201cHe needed to say one sentence: I urge all Americans to get the measles vaccine now to protect themselves and their families during this deadly outbreak.\u201dAdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTIn his speech, Mr. Kennedy also discussed his administration\u2019s effort to require more information about minimally tested chemicals and additives to food. He said they are likely linked to health problems in children.\u201cThat has to be one of the culprits,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd we know that many of those foods are associated with obesity, with neurological disorders, with A.D.H.D. and many, many of these other injuries.\u201dAbout 290 people attended the conference in person at the Grand Hyatt in Washington, and another 230 streamed it online, according to a Children\u2019s Health Defense spokesman.Children\u2019s Health Defense also focuses on toxic exposures, such as from pesticides, and radiation exposure from cell towers, cellphones and other devices. But much of its advocacy centers on vaccines.Mary Holland, the chief executive of the group, testified in New Hampshire earlier this year in favor of eliminating requirements for children to be vaccinated before starting school, a widely popular measure. That bill and others aimed at vaccine requirements for school entry did not pass.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTAt the start of the one-day conference, Michael Kane, the director of advocacy for Children\u2019s Health Defense, marveled at Mr. Trump\u2019s show of support for parental and religious rights, often invoked to refuse vaccination.\u201cWhen have we ever seen a president take on vaccine reform like this?\u201d he asked. \u201cNever. It has never ever happened.\u201dHe added: \u201cJust a few years ago, we were the hated stepchild in the corner. It was hard for us to get anything to happen. Now we are a national movement that isn\u2019t going anywhere.\u201dAdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENT",
    "published_at": "2026-09-17T20:52:32+00:00",
    "author_name": "Christina Jewett, Teddy Rosenbluth",
    "site_name": "The New York Times",
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    "ai_headline": "Kennedy Assures Vaccine Skeptics That They Have a \u2018Friend at the White House\u2019",
    "ai_simplified_title": "RFK Jr. Assures Anti-Vaccine Group of White House Support",
    "ai_excerpt": "Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spoke at a conference featuring vaccine misinformation, assuring an anti-vaccine nonprofit he founded that they had a 'friend at the White House.' His remarks came amidst rising measles cases and criticism from officials.",
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