Kennedy takes heavy criticism as vaccine debate heats up

News analysis

For anyone looking to preview the flavors of the 2026 midterm elections, right now it looks like the usual hot-button issues — crime, immigration, climate change, and forever wars — will remain at the center of the table, along with the economy, which is always the signature dish on the political menu.

Still, if last week was any indication — and it likely was — vaccines, the CDC, and the direction of the nation’s health policies will be a top concern on voters’ minds as they make their selections in November 2026. 

Amid a flurry of statements, press conferences, online broadsides, and a contentious hearing, defenders of the long-time medical status quo and advocates for change squared off in one of the Trump administration’s hottest skirmishes so far, with MAHA (Make America Healthy Again), MAGA, and Republicans generally aligned on one side, and Democrats, the pharmaceutical industry, and progressives on the other.

Health and Human Services secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., had stirred the pot earlier this summer by launching a massive shakeup at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), including the firing of the agency’s entire vaccine advisory committee, with Kennedy accusing them of conflicts of interest. He got the pot boiling by firing CDC director Susan Monarez less than a month after she won the job.

At a finance committee Senate hearing last week, Kennedy termed the shakeup as unavoidable, for the sake of the nation’s health.

“These changes were absolutely necessary to restore the CDC’s role as the world’s gold standard public health with a central mission of protecting Americans from infectious disease,” Kennedy testified. “CDC failed that responsibility miserably during Covid when its disastrous and nonsensical policies destroyed small businesses, violated civil liberties, closed our schools, and caused generational damage in doing so, masked infants with no science, and heightened economic inequality.”

Kennedy wasn’t going it alone. His ally on MAHA issues, President Donald Trump himself, took to his Truth Social online platform to take on Pfizer, and, more tellingly, his own Operation Warp Speed. In the post, Trump demanded transparency and accountability.

“It is very important that the Drug Companies justify the success of their various Covid Drugs,” Trump wrote. “Many people think they are a miracle that saved Millions of lives. Others disagree!”

Trump pointed to the turmoil inside the CDC over questions about the vaccines’ safety and efficacy.

“With CDC being ripped apart over this question, I want the answer, and I want it NOW,” he wrote. “I have been shown information from Pfizer and others that is extraordinary, but they never seem to show those results to the public. Why not??? They go off to the next ‘hunt’ and let everyone rip themselves apart, including Bobby Kennedy Jr. and CDC, trying to figure out the success or failure of the Drug Companies Covid work.”

While the drug companies were showing him great results, Trump wrote, they didn’t seem to be showing those results to anyone else.

“I want them to show them NOW, to CDC and the public, and clear up this MESS, one way or the other!!!” he wrote. “I hope OPERATION WARP SPEED was as ‘BRILLIANT’ as many say it was. If not, we all want to know about it, and why??? Thank you for your attention to this very important matter! President DJT.”

Pfizer responded almost immediately with a press release reaffirming its commitment to transparency, with chairman and CEO Dr. Albert Bourla defending the company’s record.

“Transparency has always been a cornerstone of trust, and we are dedicated to continuing to provide clear, factual data to the public,” Bourla said. “To date, data on Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine have appeared in over 600 peer-reviewed publications.”

Bourla provided links to Pfizer’s website, which contains studies and updates on safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy data, and stated that the company would post additional information and studies by the end of the month.

Furious and furious

Trump’s and Kennedy’s actions and statements were the equivalent of funneling warm water to a hurricane: There was immediate fury.

By the time the Senate hearing approached, Democratic senators were calling for Kennedy to resign — in a press conference, in a statement from Democrats on the Senate finance committee, and during the hearing itself.

On Sept. 4, every Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee signed a joint statement demanding Kennedy’s resignation, charging that his leadership has endangered the health of American families by discarding evidence-based science and undermining public trust in vaccines.

“Robert Kennedy has failed to protect the health of the American people and endangers the lives of all Americans, particularly children, people with disabilities, and vulnerable Americans,” the statement read. “Robert Kennedy must resign, and if he doesn’t, Trump should fire him before more American families are hurt by his reckless disregard for science and the truth.”

Simply put, the Democrats asserted, Kennedy wasn’t qualified for the job.

“Robert Kennedy was unfit to serve as the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services before he was on the job, which is why every Democratic member of the Senate Finance Committee opposed his nomination,” the members said. “The actions Robert Kennedy has taken since he was sworn in reinforce the danger he poses to the health of America.”

Support for the statement included Senators Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts), Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), and Raphael Warnock (D-Georgia), among others.

The same day, a group of Democratic senators and lawmakers, including members of the Congressional Democratic Doctors Caucus, held a press conference to demand Kennedy’s ouster. The event, organized by Protect Our Care and 314 Action, included Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin).

“Enough is enough — RFK Jr. has got to go,” Baldwin said. “Americans should be able to trust that the information coming from the health department is rooted in what is best for their families and not based on the unsupported theories of RFK Jr., who has spent his career peddling misinformation.”

While the hottest heat came from Democrats, some Republicans began to simmer, too. In the recent finance committee hearing, Senate Republican whip John Barrasso (R-Wyoming), an orthopedic surgeon, told Kennedy that “vaccines work,” adding he had grown more concerned since Kennedy’s confirmation.

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), also a physician, echoed that declaration of vaccine validity and accused Kennedy of trying to prevent access to them:  “I would say, effectively, we’re denying people vaccines,” Cassidy said.

Still, others in the GOP have rallied to Kennedy’s defense. Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kansas), himself a doctor, pushed back on a Sunday Face the Nation interview.

“President Trump chose Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be a disruptor to the CDC, and that’s exactly what he’s doing,” Marshall told CBS’s Margaret Brennan. “He’s focused on making the CDC more transparent, to make it more trustworthy right now. Right now, Americans don’t trust the CDC, so he is literally turning that place upside down. I respect what my colleagues are saying, but I think that, you know, this whole issue today, or in that meeting, was about vaccines.”

In his humble opinion, Marshall said, not every person needs every vaccine. 

“And I don’t think there’s many children out there that need 76 jabs by the time they’re old enough to vote,” he said.

At the hearing, Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson also rallied to Kennedy’s defense.

“Thank you for your willingness to serve and for putting up with this abuse,” Johnson said to Kennedy. “Five minutes isn’t even close to refute all of the falsehoods that have been confidently spewed during this hearing.”

For his part, Kennedy doubled down on his policies, saying pharmaceutical companies had routinely won approval from the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel, which issues vaccine recommendations, without safety testing. He also pointed out that some of his most vocal critics on the committee were the recipients of large pharmaceutical donations, alleging that Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren had taken $855,000 in pharmaceutical contributions.

The tone of the debate last week suggests that next year’s election season could be marked by heated contention over the direction of the nation’s health policies, particularly its stance on vaccination. 

For their part, Democrats are banking on still strong public support for vaccination, even if the support has waned somewhat during the post-Covid era. Speaking to The Hill in the wake of the hearing, for example, some Democratic strategists urged caution, observing that public opposition to Democratic-led Covid lockdowns and vaccine mandates likely played a role in Trump’s reelection.  

An April survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation recorded a significant decline in public trust of the CDC, dropping from a high of 85 percent in early 2020 to 57 percent, and some say Democrats may have trouble reconciling their anti-corporate messaging with a new and openly defiant progressive alliance with the pharmaceutical industry, which was once considered a prime target in progressive circles.

All in all, last week’s taste of controversy may just set the table for an entire entree of polarized debate, not to mention of action, heading into the midterms. One thing is for sure, one side is going to eat a lot of crow.

Richard Moore is the author of “Dark State” and may be reached at richardd3d.substack.com.