卫生与公众服务部部长小罗伯特·F·肯尼迪周四告诉对疫苗持怀疑态度的团体儿童健康辩护，他们在唐纳德·特朗普总统身上有“一个白宫朋友”。
肯尼迪在华盛顿特区由该组织主办的一次会议上发表了主旨演讲，指出特朗普已经指示加强儿童疫苗的研究、透明度和家长选择。
“让我说清楚。肯尼迪说：“你在白宫有一个坚定的朋友。
肯尼迪还表示，他希望在“第一天”进行更彻底的改革，但由于“程序”的原因，他无法这样做。
“在政府中，一堆事情必须在其他事情发生之前发生，否则你会被起诉，”他说。“这是一个非常费力的系统，其中有很多惯性．．．如果我们能够克服它，我们会在第一天就改变事情，但这些都是短暂的，我会失业，因为我必须根据法律和程序称职地管理我的机构。”
儿童健康辩护组织是由肯尼迪共同创立的，该组织反对推荐的儿童疫苗接种计划。在被确认为HHS秘书之前，他辞去了董事会的职务。
该组织将这次会议描述为“在健康自由运动面临前所未有的机遇和风险的背景下进行的一次及时的对话。”
预定出席的还有威斯康星州共和党参议员罗恩·约翰逊和肯塔基州共和党参议员兰德·保罗，以及亚利桑那州共和党众议员保罗·戈萨和肯塔基州共和党众议员托马斯·马西。
传染病医生、疾控中心前首席疫苗专家菲奥娜·哈沃斯博士表示，儿童健康防御（CHD）传播了虚假和误导性的信息，“直接导致了全国疫苗接种率的下降。”
“美国人现在正在悲惨地经历这一事件的直接后果，今年有超过3000例麻疹病例，仅在过去几周内就有4例麻疹相关死亡病例，”哈沃斯在一份声明中告诉美国广播公司新闻。“通过在CHD的会议上发言，小RFK正在利用他作为美国政府最高公共卫生官员的地位，以某种方式使CHD的反疫苗信息合法化，并削弱了CDC，州卫生机构，临床医生和其他人控制这些疫情的努力。”
HHS没有立即回复ABC新闻的置评请求。
肯尼迪说，特朗普要求他“大力调查儿童疫苗对慢性病疫情的潜在贡献。”
肯尼迪声称，儿童从小时候接受三种疫苗发展到目前的94剂18种疫苗。医生此前告诉ABC新闻，排除每年的流感和新冠肺炎疫苗注射，儿童在18岁前通常会接受大约30剂疫苗注射-许多是混合注射
“问题是．．．我们是否应该关注这些慢性病与疫苗相关的可能性？”肯尼迪说。
“正如你所看到的，许多这些（来自疫苗的）不良事件包括疾病，慢性病是慢性病流行的一部分，”肯尼迪在后来的演讲中说。＂换句话说，1989年后，疾病突然在我们的孩子中流行开来．＂
也是在1989年，疾病控制和预防中心（CDC）免疫实践咨询委员会（ACIP）、美国儿科学会和美国家庭医师学会建议儿童接种第二剂麻疹、腮腺炎、风疹（MMR）疫苗，尽管Kennedy没有提到这种特定的疫苗。
广泛的科学研究表明MMR疫苗和慢性疾病的发展之间没有因果关系。
在2025年的确认听证会上，肯尼迪说他不会阻止获得疫苗，他说他支持疫苗。从那以后，他还说他认为选择应该留给父母。
去年，肯尼迪取消了ACIP所有17名成员的资格，任命了自己亲手挑选的成员。
委员会随后投票取消了出生时注射乙肝疫苗的普遍建议，并修改了现有的预防麻疹、腮腺炎、风疹和水痘的MMRV联合疫苗的建议。
该组织还投票反对推荐含有防腐剂硫柳汞的流感疫苗，硫柳汞是一种基于汞的防腐剂，用于防止疫苗的微生物污染。美国目前使用的大多数流感疫苗几乎不含硫柳汞，但食品药品监督管理局和疾病预防控制中心都表示，没有证据表明疫苗中低剂量的硫柳汞会造成伤害，除了注射部位的轻微反应，如红肿。
此外，在今年年初，肯尼迪改变了儿童疫苗接种计划，将推荐的疫苗接种数量从17次减少到11次。
今年3月，马萨诸塞州的一名联邦法官阻止了疫苗计划的变更，暂停了疾控中心疫苗咨询委员会13名成员的任命，并中止了肯尼迪提名成员的所有投票。
肯尼迪在演讲中表示，他不会对法官的裁决发表评论，因为此案仍在诉讼中。
RFK Jr． tells vaccine-skeptic group Children＇s Health Defense they have a ＇friend＇ in the White House
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F． Kennedy Jr． told the vaccine-skeptic group Children＇s Health Defense on Thursday they have ＂a friend in the White House＂ in President Donald Trump．
Kennedy delivered the keynote address in Washington， D．C．， at a conference hosted by the group， noting that Trump has given directives to strengthen research， transparency and parental choice around childhood vaccines．
＂Let me be clear． You have a strong and steadfast friend at the White House，＂ Kennedy said．
Kennedy also said he wanted to make more sweeping changes on ＂day one＂ but couldn＇t do so due to ＂procedures．＂
＂In government， a bunch of things have to happen before something else happens or you get sued，＂ he said． ＂It＇s a very laborious system and there＇s a lot of inertia built in that ．．． if we were able to overcome it we would have changed things on day one， but those would have been short-lived and I would have been out of a job because I have to manage my agency competently according to the law and according to procedures．＂
Children＇s Health Defense， which advocates against the recommended vaccine schedule for children， was co-founded by Kennedy． He resigned from the board ahead of his confirmation as HHS Secretary．
The groupdescribed the conferenceas a ＂timely conversation ［that］ will take place against a backdrop of unprecedented opportunity and risk for the health freedom movement．＂
Also scheduled to appear were Republican Sens． Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Rand Paul of Kentucky， as well as Republican Reps． Paul Gosar of Arizona and Thomas Massie of Kentucky．
Dr． Fiona Havers， an infectious diseases physician and a former leading vaccine expert at the CDC， said the Children＇s Health Defense （CHD） has spread false and misleading information ＂that has contributed directly to declining vaccination rates across the country．＂
＂Americans are now tragically experiencing the direct consequences of this， with more than 3，000 measles cases this year and four measles-related deaths reported in just the last few weeks，＂ Havers told ABC News in a statement． ＂By speaking at CHD＇s conference， RFK Jr． is using his position as the U．S． government＇s top public health official in a way that legitimizes CHD＇s anti-vaccine message and undercuts efforts by CDC， state health agencies， clinicians and others to get these outbreaks under control．＂
The HHS did not immediately return ABC News＇ request for comment．
Kennedy said that Trump asked him to ＂vigorously investigate the potential contribution of childhood vaccines to the chronic disease epidemic．＂
Kennedy claimed that children went from receiving three vaccines when he was a child to 94 doses of 18 vaccines currently． Doctors havepreviously told ABC Newsthat excluding annual flu and COVID-19 shots， children generally receive roughly 30 vaccine doses -- many in combined injections -- before the age of 18
＂The question is ．．． should we be looking at the potential that some of these chronic illnesses are associated with vaccines？＂ Kennedy said．
＂As you can see， many of these adverse events ［from vaccines］ include diseases， chronic illnesses that are part of the chronic disease epidemic，＂ Kennedy said later in his speech． ＂In other words， illnesses that became suddenly epidemic in our kids after 1989．＂
The year1989 was alsowhen the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention＇s （CDC） Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices （ACIP）， the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians recommended children receive a second measles， mumps， rubella （MMR） dose， although Kennedy did not mention that specific vaccine．
Extensive scientific research has shown no causal link between the MMR vaccine and the development of chronic diseases．
During his confirmation hearingsin 2025， Kennedy said he wouldn＇t prevent access to vaccines， saying that he supports vaccines． Since then， he＇s also said he believes the choice should be left up to parents．
Last year， Kennedydismissed all 17 membersof the ACIP andappointed his own hand-selected members．
The committee then voted to remove theuniversal recommendation for the hepatitis B shotat birth and tonarrow existing recommendations for the combined MMRV shotthat protects against measles， mumps， rubella and chickenpox．
The groupalso voted againstrecommending flu vaccines containing the preservative thimerosal， a mercury-based preservative， which is used to prevent microbial contamination of vaccines． Most flu vaccines currently used in the U．S． contain little to no thimerosal， but both the Food and Drug Administration and the CDC say there is no evidence that low doses of thimerosal in vaccines cause harm other than minor reactions at the injection site， such as redness or swelling．
Additionally， at the beginning of this year， Kennedy made changes to the childhood vaccine schedule， reducing the number of recommended shots from 17 to 11．
In March， a federal Massachusetts judgeblockedchanges to the vaccine schedule， suspended the appointments of the 13 members of the CDC＇s vaccine advisory committee and stayed all votes taken by the Kennedy-nominated members．
Kennedy said during his speech that he would not comment on the judge＇s ruling because the case remains in litigation．
