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Connie Adler of Farmington and Noah Nesin of Glenburn have been family doctors serving Maine since 1986.
As family doctors who have practiced here in Maine for decades, we are deeply concerned about Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). This appointment poses a significant threat to the health and well-being of Americans, particularly our children and we encourage both of our senators to oppose the approval of his appointment.
Throughout his career, Kennedy has consistently spread dangerous misinformation about vaccines, despite overwhelming scientific evidence of their safety and effectiveness at preventing serious illnesses. We have witnessed firsthand the life-saving impact of vaccines. They have eradicated diseases like smallpox, nearly eliminated others like polio and have prevented devastating diseases like meningitis and cervical cancer.
The recent measles outbreaks we’ve seen in the U.S. and abroad are a direct result of declining vaccination rates, fueled by the kind of misinformation Kennedy promotes. In Samoa, Kennedy’s personal visit and comments and his anti-vaccine nonprofit’s support for vaccine opponents significantly contributed to the measles outbreak in which 83 children died.
Kennedy’s stance on vaccines is not merely a difference of opinion; it’s a rejection of established science. He has falsely linked vaccines to autism, a claim that has been thoroughly debunked by numerous studies. This is but one example of his refusal to consider the evidence and instead appears to follow his personal hunches or unvalidated stories. This undermines the entire basis for evidence-based medicine and it is terrifying for someone who thinks like this to be put in the powerful position to direct research.
Moreover, Kennedy’s views on other health issues are equally concerning. He has promoted unproven and potentially dangerous alternative treatments, questioned the safety of fluoride in drinking water, and advocated for the legalization of raw milk sales. As HHS secretary, Kennedy would oversee crucial agencies like the Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and National Institutes of Health. He has no experience running an organization of the complexity of HHS, little medical knowledge, and no apparent track record of learning from others. These organizations are the core of research in this country for cancer, food safety, drug development and infectious diseases. Kennedy would put all of that at risk.
His skepticism of established medical science and the resulting degradation of public trust in our health institutions could undermine our ability to respond effectively to public health crises, from emerging infectious diseases to the ongoing opioid epidemic. Think of the success of former Maine CDC Director Nirav Shah during the COVID-19 pandemic in providing education, reassurance and scientific information in a manner that empowered people to make good decisions for themselves and their loved ones. With Kennedy at the helm at HHS that kind of trust and confidence would be undermined, conspiracy theories and misinformation could have a prominent platform and lives would be placed at unnecessary risk.
Maine is a national leader in vaccination rates for school children and Maine voters overwhelmingly endorsed mandatory school vaccinations in a 2020 referendum. Earlier in 2024 the Maine CDC announced that Maine achieved record high vaccination rates of over 95 percent for our schoolchildren. Yet Kennedy has criticized school vaccine mandates. This great public health success and others are in jeopardy should Kennedy be confirmed. We urge Senators Collins and King to oppose this nomination and to vote no. Maine’s children and all of the people of Maine deserve no less.
