RFK Jr faces intense questions in US Senate on measles and flu deaths

The health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, faced intense questioning from several US senators on Wednesday during a hearing largely focused on how the administration has responded to the measles outbreak and the spread of vaccine misinformation.

In his opening remarks to the Senate finance committee, the senator Ron Wyden criticizsed Kennedy’s messaging on vaccines, saying: “When it comes to vaccines, Robert Kennedy has used this once-in-a-lifetime platform to make parents doubt themselves and doubt their doctors,” before adding: “The secretary has ducked, bobbed and weaved without taking the responsibility of saying what needs to be said: vaccines save lives in America.”

Tensions rose when the discussion turned to the measles outbreak, with Wyden challenging Kennedy directly over his long-held views on vaccines. Kennedy has consistently sought to separate himself from responsibility for the outbreak during recent Capitol Hill appearances.

Public health specialists have argued that Kennedy failed to strongly promote vaccination and instead highlighted unproven treatments such as steroids while the virus spread across state lines.

Kennedy, however, maintained that the US managed the outbreak more effectively than any other nation, noting that Mexico and Canada reported higher numbers of cases.

“I had nothing to do with the measles outbreak here,” he reiterated. “We have limited our outbreak better than any country in the world.”

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Source: The Guardian, 22 April 2026