U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) used a recent roundtable discussion at UW Medicine to continue sounding the alarm over President-elect Donald Trump’s choice of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to head the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Murray has voiced adamant opposition to a Kennedy appointment since Trump announced his pick last month. Murray said that if Kennedy is approved as the nation’s chief health officer, he “would threaten Americans’ health and safety.”
The roundtable — which included notable local epidemiologists, pediatric researchers, and clinicians— highlighted the importance of vaccines and the scientific research that validates their efficacy, especially for children.
A fight for scientific, evidence-based public health care
Kennedy is well-known for his anti-vaccine stance, including pushing out misinformation about a connection between vaccines and autism long after researchers debunked it. During his run for president, he threatened to disrupt vaccine research and fire top infectious disease scientists, promises many doctors and public health experts fear Kennedy will try to make good on if he’s appointed national health chief.
“RFK Jr. has expressed countless views that run counter to basic truth, facts, and scientific evidence—and there is much he could do as HHS Secretary to create total chaos and cause real harm to families,” said Murray, a senior member and former Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee.
Murray and roundtable participants stressed that no-cost childhood vaccine programs and insurance coverage of vaccines have saved countless lives. Elevating Kennedy to Health Secretary, Murray warned, will also elevate anti-vaccine conspiracy theories and the platforms that serve them and increase vaccine hesitancy. The senator said those things would take the nation’s fight against infectious disease back decades.
Rates of vaccination declining
Washington is not immune from vaccine setbacks. Despite the state’s progressive reputation, vaccine hesitancy has been a growing issue here since the pandemic, according to roundtable participant Dr. Helen Chu, a professor of medicine and epidemiology at the University of Washington. Chu said more and more families are choosing to delay or forego vaccines, especially in early childhood.
Chu pointed to Washington’s current whooping cough statistics by way of example. According to the Washington Department of Health, there have been more than 1,600 cases of pertussis (whooping cough) reported in the state this year—the highest number of cases seen in 10 years. Heath agencies across the state are urging the public to vaccinate against the disease.
In a recent health alert, Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department noted that pertussis vaccination coverage dropped among children aged 19-35 months across the state from 72% in 2019 to 65% in 2023. The department also showed that pregnant people are declining the vaccine at higher rates—Tdap vaccinations among pregnant people have dropped from 86% in 2019 to 82% in 2022, despite the fact that infants are at the highest risk of severe pertussis illness and death.
Today in Washington, 87% of Washington K-12 students have completed vaccination cards, but the number of vaccinated kindergartners has declined in the last two years, according to the state health department.
The impact of misinformation
“Dangerous misinformation and conspiracies have led to backsliding in recent years,” Murray said. “If we don’t stop the misinformation and ensure people trust vaccines we have used for years, we will see more outbreaks.”
Murray said she wants Washington parents and health experts to “have a voice” and speak about how vaccines are “safe, effective, and lifesaving.”
“Thanks to vaccines, policies that require insurance to cover vaccines, and programs that ensure children can get vaccinated at no cost, we have saved countless lives,” Murray said.
Along with Chu, roundtable participants included Dr. Beth Ebel, a professor of pediatrics at the UW School of Medicine, an attending physician at Seattle Children’s Hospital, and an adjunct professor in the Department of Epidemiology; Dr. Marion Pepper, Chair of UW Medicine’s Department of Immunology; and Samantha Kunze Garcia, a nurse at Intergalactic Pediatrics.
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