Pa. lawmakers and doctors push back against RFK Jr.’s vaccine policies

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. started the new year changing childhood vaccine schedules despite pushback from the medical community.

While speaking at a Make American Healthy Again (MAHA) Rally inside the Pennsylvania Capitol on Wednesday, US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. defended his recent decision to change childhood vaccine schedules even though many doctors, health care experts, and government officials disagree. 

“Our recent revisions of the vaccine schedule makes what we believe in the best scientific judgment about how Americans can protect their health,” Kennedy told reporters. 

“ Some states may choose to take a different pathway and I think we envision that different people would be doing different things. But it ends the coercion and for the first time we are looking at [the] science about the risks of vaccines.”

Kennedy, a longtime vaccine skeptic, has spent decades spreading misinformation and debunked scientific reporting that vaccines cause autism and other illnesses. Under his watch, there were over 2,100 cases of measles across 44 states in 2025—the most since 1991.

Prior to the MAHA rally, a couple dozen residents from the Harrisburg area braved the cold weather and held a rally opposing Kennedy’s visit. Andrea Fellerman-Kesack, a  board-certified clinical pathologist, who spent most of her career developing vaccines, was one of those speaking out against the vaccination changes.

“ In Trump’s current term, there was an outbreak of measles in Texas, and with RFK in charge, we’ve watched that outbreak grow into epidemic proportions,” Fellerman-Kesack said in an interview. 

“ What has RFK done? Nothing. He’s recommended cod liver oil and has not done a good job of recommending vaccination, which is the only way to prevent measles. There is no cure and there are long-term side effects.”

Last fall, Gov. Josh Shapiro, who criticized Kennedy’s visit, signed an executive order safeguarding access to vaccines and requires the state to align with guidance from national organizations such as American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), and U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA). 

Pennsylvania House and Senate democratic lawmakers gathered following Kennedy’s visit to talk about the dangers of Kennedy’s vaccine misinformation and changes to vaccination schedules.

 ”The changes that we’ve seen in the pediatric immunization schedule are going to harm untold numbers of children and babies,” State Sen. Maria Collett (D-Montgomery), a longtime nurse, said in an interview. 

“ This is part of our responsibility as government officials, as public servants. It is to protect the most vulnerable amongst and, spouting nonsense about vaccines being ineffective or even dangerous is really going the opposite way.”