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DOJ Asked to Probe Kennedy’s Vaccine Claims in Testimony

8/28/2026

31 4 Full Breakdown

Summary

Kennedy Probe Requested

U.S. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faces an investigation request over his 2025 Senate testimony.
American Oversight asked the DOJ on August 27, 2026, to probe whether Kennedy made false statements.
Kennedy told Senators Ron Wyden and Ed Markey Samoa visit “had nothing to do with vaccines,” contradicting his 2019 letter.
Ed Markey said the post-trip outbreak killed 83 people, 72 children under five, and caused 1,860 hospitalizations.

Summary

Kennedy Cuts Vaccines

Secretary Kennedy dismissed the 17-member federal vaccine advisory committee and appointed his own members.
Kennedy backed President Donald Trump's executive order cutting the U.S. childhood immunization schedule from 17 to 11 vaccines.
He advocated splitting the combined MMR vaccine into three separate shots and spacing out administrations.
Public health experts warn the changes could undermine herd immunity amid record U.S. measles cases.

History

Historical Context

Andrew Wakefield’s 28 February 1998 Lancet study of twelve children claimed a link between the MMR vaccine and autism, prompting a 1999 WHO warning and CDC monitoring, then was retracted and led to his 2010 medical deregistration. In 2025, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faces a DOJ probe, while Senators Wyden and Markey demand accountability for the revived anti-vaccine narrative.

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Kennedy Probe Requested

U.S. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faces an investigation request over his 2025 Senate testimony.
American Oversight asked the DOJ on August 27, 2026, to probe whether Kennedy made false statements.
Kennedy told Senators Ron Wyden and Ed Markey Samoa visit “had nothing to do with vaccines,” contradicting his 2019 letter.
Ed Markey said the post-trip outbreak killed 83 people, 72 children under five, and caused 1,860 hospitalizations.

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