Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has been serving as Secretary of Health and Human Services for four months now, has made a number of public statements regarding vaccines which have raised questions about the safety and the objectivity of the long-standing process that is used to evaluate them.
These statements are often factually inaccurate. In a Fox News newscast broadcast on June 12, 2025 Kennedy claimed that 97% federal vaccine advisors were on the take. He also stated in the same interview that kids receive 92 mandatory vaccinations. He also claimed that COVID-19, and not other vaccines used by children and adults , were tested against placebos, and that ” no one has any idea“, how safe routine vaccinations are.
As a infectious diseases physician, who curates a open data base of hundreds of controlled vaccination trials with over 6,000,000 participants, I am intimately aware of the decades of research into vaccine safety. It is vital to correct this record, especially since these statements are coming from an official in charge of the agencies responsible for protecting Americans’ health.
Are children really required to receive 92 shots?
In 1986, there were approximately 11 doses of vaccines to protect against seven diseases. Today, the schedule includes approximately 50 injections that cover 16 diseases. Most state school entry laws require 30 to 36 shots covering 10 to 12 different diseases. No state mandates COVID-19 vaccination. Kennedy’s claim that “92 mandatory shots” is a Kennedy figure is not clear, but the actual number of shots is much lower.
The more important question from a safety perspective is whether the current schedule of additional vaccines could be too demanding on children’s immune system. The answer is no, as the number of antigens per dose has decreased dramatically over the last few decades due to improvements in vaccine technology.
The molecules that are in vaccines trigger an immune response, teaching the system to recognize the pathogen. Some vaccines have a small amount of aluminum sodium that acts as an adjuvant, a helping ingredient that helps improve the quality and lasting power of the immune reaction. This allows each dose to protect with less antigen.
These 11 doses from 1986 provided more than 3,000 antibodies and 1.5 milligrams aluminum over a period of 18 years. The complete schedule of today delivers approximately 165 antigens, which is a 95% decrease. It also contains 5-6 milligrams aluminum over the same period. In 1900, a single smallpox vaccination exposed a child more antigens that today’s entire series.
The United States introduced vaccines for Haemophilus Influenzae type B, hepatitis C and A, chickenpox and pneumococcal diseases, as well as rotavirus, human papillomavirus, and rotavirus in 1986. Each new addition is a significant advance in saving lives.
Infants are now experiencing a 95% reduction in the incidence of Haemophilus flue type b. This bacterial infection can lead to pneumonia, meningitis, and other serious diseases. The incidence of pediatric hepatitis is down by more than 90 percent, and hospitalizations for chickenpox are down about 90 percent. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, vaccinating all children born between 1994 and 2023 will prevent 508 millions illnesses and 1129,000 premature deaths.
Placebo testing for vaccines
Kennedy claims that the only COVID-19 vaccinations underwent rigorous safety tests in which they were compared to placebos. This is categorically incorrect.
In our database of 378 controlled studies, 195 compared the response of volunteers to a vaccination with that to a placebo. In 159 of those trials, volunteers were given only salt water or an inert substance. Another 36 studies used only the adjuvant, without any viral or bacteria material. This was to determine if there were any side effects of the antigen or injection. At least one study has included every routine childhood vaccine.
In the 1954 Salk polio test – one of the biggest clinical trials in history – more than 600 000 children were enrolled and the vaccine was tested by comparing the salt water control with the Salk polio vaccine. The Haemophilus Influenzae type b vaccine, the pneumococcal vaccine, the rotavirus vaccine, and HPV were all tested in similar trials using a substance with no biological effects as a standard.
After a vaccine is proven to be effective, the ethics board requires that new versions of it be tested against this licensed standard. This is because it would be unethical to deny children protection they have been shown to receive.
How well known is the safety of vaccines that are widely used?
Kennedy has repeatedly stated that ” no one has any idea about vaccine safety profiles.” The vast majority of the 378 clinical trials included in our database published safety results.
The U.S. monitors hundreds of millions doses of vaccines to detect rare problems. The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System is a mailbox that anyone can use to report a problem after undergoing vaccinating.
The systems allowed health officials to withdraw the first rotavirus vaccination in 1999 when it was linked with bowel obstruction and restrict the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine by 2021, after rare clotting incidents. Rarely do drug classes receive such continuous monitoring and take such rapid corrective actions when real risks are discovered.
Conflict of Interest Claim
Kennedy made the unprecedented move on June 9 to dissolve the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. This expert body advises the CDC on vaccine policy. He has repeatedly claimed that 97% of the serving members had significant conflicts of interest due to their involvement with the pharmaceutical industry. Kennedy bases this number on a federal audit conducted in 2009 of conflict-of interest paperwork. However, the report only looked at 17 CDC committees and not just this vaccine committee. also found that there was no widespread wrongdoing. 97% of the disclosure forms contained only routine paperwork errors, such as incorrect information or an initial missing, but not any hidden financial ties.
Reuters examined the data from Open Payments – a government website which discloses relationships between health care providers and industry – to determine all 17 voting members of the committee that were dismissed. Six members of the committee received less than US$80 in payments from drug companies over a seven-year period, while four others did not receive any payments.
Seven members of the committee received between $4,000 to $55,000 in seven years for consulting and travel, mainly modest amounts. Just 41% of members received more than pennies from drug companies. Committee members must divest vaccine stock, and they are required to recuse themselves when voting on issues involving conflict.
The term “without meaning”
Kennedy warned that vaccines can cause ” immuno deregulation“, a term which has no basis in the field of immunology. Vaccines are designed to train the immune system. The diseases that they prevent, however, are the true threats to immunity.
The measles wipes out the immune memory and leaves children susceptible to other infections. Children can develop Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome when exposed to COVID-19. organ damage can be caused by chronic hepatitis. Immune system damage can be prevented by preventing these conditions.
The vaccine panel of today does more than just prevent infection. It also reduces doctor visits, and thus unnecessary prescriptions of “just in case” antibiotics. This is one of the few places in medicine that physicians can do more good today with less biological load than they did 40 years ago.
It is a fact that vaccines have reduced childhood illnesses, disabilities and deaths on an unprecedented scale.
Jake Scott has not disclosed any relevant affiliations other than their academic appointment. He does not work, consult, own or receive funding from companies or organizations that would benefit from the article.
