Health Update: Health Update: RFK Jr. has been health secretary for a year. What has he done? – What Experts Say– What Experts Say.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s first year in office brought significant change
USA TODAY’s Sara Moniuszko looks back on one year of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
It’s been one year since Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was confirmed as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. How’s he doing so far?
Depends on whom you ask.
On the HHS website, a page dedicated to highlighting Year One of Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” mission, or MAHA, states the administration has built a “healthier, stronger America.”
Under Kennedy’s leadership, the department “is taking bold, decisive action to reform America’s food, health and scientific systems to identify the root causes of the chronic disease epidemic and Make America Healthy Again,” a message reads.
Brad Woodhouse, president of the social welfare nonprofit Protect Our Care, disagrees. “In one year, RFK Jr. has made America sicker,” he said at a news conference Feb. 10.
“He’s let measles get a foothold in the U.S. again. He continues to undermine the efficacy of the measles vaccine. He’s undermined public trust in vaccines. He’s promoted dangerous conspiracy theories,” Woodhouse said. “He’s installed quacks in key position to wreak havoc on our nation’s public health infrastructure.”
During the past year, Kennedy has gained a loyal following of outspoken fans and simultaneously made moves that have enraged his equally vocal opponents. So perhaps the best way to evaluate his success in office is to look at what he has done.
Here are seven major moments from RFK Jr.’s first year as HHS secretary, in no particular order:
Kennedy’s messaging on measles
In an interview in April 2025, Kennedy said he encouraged people to get vaccinated against measles after an outbreak killed multiple people in the United States − the first fatalities in the nation in a decade from one of the world’s most highly contagious diseases. As of February 2026, measles outbreaks have gotten worse as hundreds of cases have been reported across the country.
“We encourage people to get the measles vaccine,” Kennedy told CBS News in April.
He also repeated the endorsement on the social media platform X, posting, “The most effective way to prevent the spread of measles is the MMR vaccine.”
That post was met with backlash from anti-vaxxers, but infectious disease clinician-scientist Dr. Neil Stone welcomed Kennedy’s comments. “Words I never thought I would hear Robert F Kennedy Jr say,” he wrote, “He’s absolutely 100% correct, and I’m relieved to hear him say it.”
Later that month, Kennedy changed his messaging, saying the measles shot is “leaky” because its effectiveness wanes over time, something medical experts dispute.
RFK Jr. focused on artificial food dyes
In April 2025, Kennedy announced plans to remove certain artificial dyes from the U.S. food and drug supply, a step toward one of his campaign promises.
“For too long, some food producers have been feeding Americans petroleum-based chemicals without their knowledge or consent,” he said.
Food activists and watchdog groups have said the move is a step in the right direction.
The Food and Drug Administration has said it would “phase out all petroleum-based synthetic dyes from the nation’s food supply” by the end of 2026.
No formal agreement or legislation was passed formally banning the substances. Instead, HHS and the FDA have a “mutual understanding” with the food industry that the dyes will be progressively removed, according to Kennedy.
Kennedy missed his stated autism deadline
One thing Kennedy failed to do is meet his announced deadline for finding an autism “cure” by September 2025 − a goal many experts pushed back against because research has shown there is no singular “cure” to autism spectrum disorder. Kennedy later walked back his deadline, saying it would take more time.
In September 2025, however, conversations about autism reached a fever pitch after President Donald Trump said the FDA believed the use of acetaminophen − the active ingredient in Tylenol and many cold and flu medications − during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of autism. But many medical experts, citing comprehensive studies, have said the medication is safe.
A major study published in 2024 that followed nearly 2.5 million children in Sweden over 25 years found that acetaminophen use during pregnancy did not increase the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in children.
Multiple medical organizations, including the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Psychiatric Association, endorsed using acetaminophen during pregnancy.
“A strong base of evidence shows that acetaminophen, when taken as directed, is safe for use during pregnancy,” the APA said in a statement after the administration’s announcement.
RFK Jr. changed the childhood vaccine recommendations
On Jan. 6, the HHS said it was revising its childhood immunization schedule to recommend four fewer vaccines, including those for rotavirus, influenza, meningococcal disease and hepatitis A. Those shots have now been moved to shared decision-making between parents and health care providers, not an outright recommendation.
There was also a change for the human papillomavirus, or HPV, vaccine. Now, only one dose is recommended; the guidance had been a two- or three-dose series depending on age at initial vaccination.
Last year, the CDC also changed recommendations for the hepatis B and COVID-19 shots.
With the updates to the Hep B vaccine, the CDC officially ended a long-standing recommendation that all newborns receive the vaccine at birth, leaving it instead to parents, in consultation with a health care provider, to decide.
Though the changes advance one of Kennedy’s long-term goals, public health experts have said it might come at the expense of children’s health.
Dr. Andrew D. Racine, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, called the changes “dangerous and unnecessary.”
“American children’s lives are now at risk,” added Michele Slafkosky, executive director for the organization Families Fighting Flu.
In a statement after the announcement, Kennedy said the decision “protects children, respects families, and rebuilds trust in public health.”
RFK Jr. changed U.S. dietary guidelines
Though it was announced later than had been expected, Kennedy revealed new U.S. Dietary Guidelines on Jan. 7.
Recommendations included more protein as well as less sugar and ultra-processed foods. The guidelines also loosen restrictions on alcoholic drinks.
“As secretary of Health and Human Services, my message is clear: Eat real food,” Kennedy said.
Many nutrition experts across the aisle praised the emphasis on eating whole foods, but some found other messaging misguided.
For example, the new guidelines came with a newly flipped food pyramid, which visibly put red meat at the top − but saturated fats found in red meat and dairy products put you at increased risk of obesity and cardiovascular disease, Dr. Daniel Dunham, chair of medicine at Lenox Hill Hospital, told USA TODAY.
Dunham also noted that many Americans struggle with access to fresh food.
Kennedy brought in a new vaccine panel
In June 2025, Kennedy fired all 17 sitting members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, an independent expert panel that helped the agency establish vaccine recommendations for more than 60 years. He appointed new members, including some vaccine skeptics, a few days later.
Kennedy’s move went against what he had promised in his confirmation hearings: that he would maintain the advisory committee’s composition.
Kennedy said at the time that “a clean sweep” will “reestablish public confidence in vaccine science.” Some who follow the Make America Healthy Again movement praised his decision, but former health officials and some medical experts worried the firings would sow distrust in the public health system and in vaccines that have been found to be safe and effective.
RFK Jr. cut HHS roles, funding
Shortly after his confirmation in March 2025, Kennedy announced thousands of job cuts at HHS, eliminating about 1 in 4 federal health agency jobs.
Kennedy later said some programs and employees purged in the dramatic HHS restructuring would be reinstated, saying they were mistakenly cut.
“Personnel that should not have been cut were cut,” he told ABC News in May 2025. “We’re reinstating them, and that was always the plan.”
Contributing: Adrianna Rodriguez, Ken Alltucker, Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy and Mary Walrath-Holdridge