section_path: Anti-vaccine advocacy and conspiracy theories on public health/Pushback from the Kennedy family
section_name: Pushback from the Kennedy family
paragraph_text: Pushback from the Kennedy family
  
  Several members of Kennedy's close family have distanced themselves from his anti-vaccination activities and conspiracy theories on public health, and condemned his comments equating public health measures with Nazi war crimes. On May 8, 2019, his niece Maeve Kennedy McKean and elder siblings Kathleen and Joseph wrote an open letter saying that while Kennedy has championed many admirable causes, he "has helped to spread dangerous misinformation over social media and is complicit in sowing distrust of the science behind vaccines". They also cited the roles played by President John F. Kennedy and Senator Ted Kennedy in (respectively) signing and reauthorizing the Vaccination Assistance Act of 1962.
  
  On December 30, 2020, another niece, Kerry Kennedy Meltzer, a physician, wrote a similar open letter, saying that her uncle published misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines' side effects. John F. Kennedy's daughter Caroline Kennedy said her family was generally united in supporting public health infrastructure, citing the work of Ted Kennedy and Eunice Kennedy Shriver. She added, "I think Bobby Kennedy 's views on vaccines are dangerous, but I don't think that most Americans share them, so we'll just have to wait and see what happens."
  
  On January 28, 2025, Caroline Kennedy publicly denounced Kennedy in a letter she sent U.S. senators and in a video of her reading the letter, calling him a "predator" and a "hypocrite" who was unqualified to be the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. She accused him of animal cruelty and "encouraging" other family members, such as his brother David Kennedy, into substance abuse that led to addiction, illness, and death. Caroline Kennedy's cousin Stephen Smith Jr. said, "I completely support my cousin Caroline's view that RFK Jr. is unqualified in terms of experience and character for the role of Secty of HHS."
  
  Several members of Kennedy's close family have distanced themselves from his anti-vaccination activities and conspiracy theories on public health, and condemned his comments equating public health measures with Nazi war crimes. On May 8, 2019, his niece Maeve Kennedy McKean and elder siblings Kathleen and Joseph wrote an open letter saying that while Kennedy has championed many admirable causes, he "has helped to spread dangerous misinformation over social media and is complicit in sowing distrust of the science behind vaccines". They also cited the roles played by President John F. Kennedy and Senator Ted Kennedy in (respectively) signing and reauthorizing the Vaccination Assistance Act of 1962.
  
  On December 30, 2020, another niece, Kerry Kennedy Meltzer, a physician, wrote a similar open letter, saying that her uncle published misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines' side effects. John F. Kennedy's daughter Caroline Kennedy said her family was generally united in supporting public health infrastructure, citing the work of Ted Kennedy and Eunice Kennedy Shriver. She added, "I think Bobby Kennedy 's views on vaccines are dangerous, but I don't think that most Americans share them, so we'll just have to wait and see what happens."
  
  On January 28, 2025, Caroline Kennedy publicly denounced Kennedy in a letter she sent U.S. senators and in a video of her reading the letter, calling him a "predator" and a "hypocrite" who was unqualified to be the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. She accused him of animal cruelty and "encouraging" other family members, such as his brother David Kennedy, into substance abuse that led to addiction, illness, and death. Caroline Kennedy's cousin Stephen Smith Jr. said, "I completely support my cousin Caroline's view that RFK Jr. is unqualified in terms of experience and character for the role of Secty of HHS."