Dr. Jerome Adams, who served as the surgeon general throughout President Donald Trump's first term, pulled no punches in criticizing Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Sunday's episode of Face the Nation over his recent cuts to vaccine research funding.
"I want to ask you about health policy because days earlier, Secretary Kennedy made an announcement that the U.S. is halting $500 million for vaccine research into that technology known as mRNA. You're very familiar with it because it was used during Operation Warp Speed to very quickly get that COVID vaccine," began host Margaret Brennan.
"Secretary Kennedy said, though, mRNA vaccines, quote, 'Don't work against upper respiratory infections.' Do you know what he means? And what is stopping this research do for pandemic preparations?" Brennan then asked.
"Well, that's simply not true," Adams replied, adding:
We know that by the most conservative estimates, over two million lives have been saved because of mRNA technology. It helped us develop COVID-19 vaccines in record time. And it's, quite frankly, President Trump's greatest achievement. It's fascinating to me that in this conversation about whether he should receive the Nobel Prize for something, the thing that he should be considered for the Nobel Prize for, his health secretary is trying to undermine.
In June, Adams sounded the alarm on Kennedy removing every member of a key vaccine policy board at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Kennedy, who unlike Adams is not a trained doctor, purged the independent Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) on Monday, accusing the 17 scientists of having conflicts of interest.
Adams responded by urging Kennedy to replace the board with qualified scientists and not based on "politics" or "populism."
"As a physician and former U.S. Surgeon General, I am deeply concerned by the unprecedented decision to remove all 17 members of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). For decades, ACIP's independent, evidence-based recommendations have saved countless lives by guiding vaccine policy with transparency and scientific rigor," Adams wrote at the time, adding:
This move risks undermining public trust in vaccines at a time when declining immunization rates and outbreaks of preventable diseases, like measles, warrant steady leadership. While concerns about conflicts of interest deserve attention, ACIP members are already subject to strict disclosure requirements, and their expertise is critical to informed decision-making.
I urge Secretary Kennedy to ensure that any new appointees are qualified scientists committed to public health and to prioritize collaboration with the scientific community to strengthen, not dismantle, this vital process. Our children and communities deserve policies grounded in science, not politics and populism.
Kennedy has long been under fire for his history of vaccine skepticism, including linking vaccines to autism. Kennedy has also made such wild claims as to say chemicals in drinking water are turning kids transgender and that Covid-19 may have been engineered to spare "Jews and Chinese" people.