The Republican senator’s childhood bout with the disease has informed his ardent support for vaccines amid increasing skepticism of them within his party.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is telling senators considering his nomination to lead the government’s health agencies he merely wants transparency about vaccines.
“There are so many things about RFK Jr. that would seem to make him a Democratic appointee instead of a Republican one — but so much of that is overshadowed by his anti-vaccine views, which resonate with Republicans after the Covid experience,” said Larry Levitt, executive vice president at the health policy think tank KFF.