3 of RFK Jr.’s Favorite Anti-Vax Studies Are Being Retracted or Scrutinized

At least three scientific papers that are frequently touted by Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to promote doubts on vaccine safety have been removed, retracted, or placed under additional scrutiny by the journals that originally published them.

According to a report from The Guardian, the studies in question include:

• A paper published in 2021 that suggested a link between vaccines and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). The paper faces “serious methodological flaws,” the journal that initially published it stated.
• A paper from 2020, which alleged that vaccinated children had higher rates of health problems, such as developmental delays and asthma. The paper was flagged with an “expression of concern” by the publisher earlier this year, and is under investigation.
• And a paper from 2010, which suggested that boys who received hepatitis B vaccines were more likely to be diagnosed with autism. That paper was retracted entirely.

Kennedy has frequently used these studies to promote his anti-vaccination ideals, citing some of them in a 2023 book in which he dubiously argued that unvaccinated children were healthier than vaccinated children. More recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which Kennedy’s department oversees, cited one of the papers to justify changing language on its website that had previously debunked claims linking vaccines to autism.

Originally, the CDC website had read:

Studies have shown that there is no link between receiving vaccines and developing autism spectrum disorder (ASD). No links have been found between any vaccine ingredients and ASD.

However, last fall, the site was changed to read:

The claim ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism.

The CDC site also claimed that “studies supporting a link have been ignored by health authorities.”

The three papers that Kennedy and others in the administration have cited have long faced criticism from experts.

“These papers are poor science,” said Karina Top, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Alberta, speaking to The Guardian. “It appears the authors are making the data fit their hypothesis that vaccines are harmful.”

Perhaps due to an increase in vaccine skepticism (including from Kennedy) over the past several years, there have been higher rates of preventable diseases observed in children across the United States over the past year or so.

Last year, there were 29,000 cases of whooping cough observed in the U.S., the highest number seen in over a decade. Doctors are continuing to see a high number of cases this year, too.

Measles has also seen a resurgence as a result of lower vaccination rates. In 2024, there were only 285 cases detected across the entirety of the country. In 2025, there were 2,242 cases counted, and in the first half of 2026, there have been 1,983 documented cases of the virus, mostly in children.

Kennedy has downplayed the significance of these outbreaks, denying that they are serious enough to warrant larger action. He has falsely claimed that such outbreaks happen “every year” in the U.S., and pushed the dangerous idea that direct exposure to measles is a better way to induce long-term immunity than vaccines.

A person who contracts measles can face detrimental health outcomes that may last their entire lives, especially if they contract the virus as a child. The virus can also result in death.

“Measles is a dangerous disease and the vaccine is very safe. The risks of severe illness, death, or lifelong complications from measles infection far outweigh the generally mild side effects some people experience following vaccination,” an explainer from Johns Hopkins University states.

Despite a bevy of evidence demonstrating that there is no link between vaccines and autism, Kennedy is still reportedly pursuing the idea, using his department’s resources to access millions of Americans’ public health records.

Likely in reaction to public backlash against Kennedy’s actions, President Donald Trump nominated Erica Schwartz — a former deputy surgeon general who doesn’t share the HHS secretary’s anti-vax views — to lead the CDC earlier this year. However, in testimony before a House committee in April, Kennedy indicated that Schwartz’s appointment wouldn’t deter his anti-vax agenda.

“Will you commit on the record today to implement whatever vaccine guidance [Schwartz] issues, without interference?” Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-California) asked Kennedy during that hearing.

“I’m not going to make that kind of commitment,” Kennedy responded.