RFK Jr. endangers my son’s life and vulnerable kids in NC. Oppose him, senators | Opinion
My six-year-old son survived nine months fighting for his life in the NICU, four more years on a ventilator, the COVID-19 pandemic and the devastating impacts of Hurricane Helene to our community in Western North Carolina. My family is exhausted from six years of existing in survival mode. We need normalcy. We need to feel safe.
Just as schools reopen, safe drinking water returns and a sense of safety is restored in our community, we learn of yet another dangerous threat to our son’s life — the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Kennedy is a leader in the anti-vaccine community and has a long, well-documented history of spreading falsehoods and conspiracy theories on vaccines. His careless words and actions have sowed doubt around the world, including Samoa where people experienced a deadly outbreak of measles in 2019 shortly after Kennedy visited the island country to reinforce vaccine hesitancy, though he baselessly denies he had anything to do with the outbreak.
What began as a fringe movement two decades ago, anti-vaxxers have gained serious momentum with the help of people like Kennedy whose well-funded organization, Children’s Health Defense, spreads vaccine misinformation. If confirmed as head of the federal health agency, Kennedy would be given an enormous platform to amplify anti-vaccine rhetoric, which will create more confusion and doubt and lead to increased vaccine skepticism among Americans. As the parent of a medically fragile child, Kennedy’s nomination is terrifying and will set us back.
My son, Desi, has chronic lung disease and uses a tracheostomy to breathe. During the COVID pandemic, we had to take more precautions than most families — our son’s life depended on it. When COVID vaccines became available, we were the first in line to be vaccinated. For our family, the vaccines meant freedom. We could finally move out of isolation and be part of our community again. We could finally give Desi the childhood he deserves.
Lies about vaccinations have consequences. This growing movement has already taken hold of Buncombe County, where my family resides, and will worsen if Kennedy is confirmed. According to North Carolina’s health agency, in 2023, Buncombe County had more than double the rate of kindergarten students exempted from vaccinations on religious grounds than the statewide rate.
It’s no surprise that in 2018, a private school in Buncombe County, with high numbers of students who are unvaccinated, experienced the worst outbreak of chickenpox in the state since a vaccine became available nearly 3 decades ago.
Living in an area where this misinformation and these misbeliefs are rampant endangers my family, and I’m not alone. It’s estimated that 22% of children in North Carolina have a special healthcare need and their health could be impacted by the spread of vaccine misinformation.
The confirmation of Kennedy threatens all my family’s progress in giving Desi a thriving childhood. If the anti-vaccine movement grows in numbers under Kennedy’s leadership and more parents opt out of giving their children routine vaccinations, activities like going to school, visiting a library, attending a music class or playing on a playground will become a greater peril to our son’s health.
As a resident of North Carolina and a mother who will do anything to protect her child, I am asking our North Carolina senators in Congress and all senators to reject the confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for secretary of health and human services. I’m also calling upon Governor-Elect Josh Stein, his public health appointees and state Superintendent of Public Instruction-elect Mo Green to stand up in support of vaccination.
My son’s life and the lives of all children with special healthcare needs depend on your courage to do the right thing.