Washington D.C. – Today, leading health advocacy groups Protect Our Care and the American Public Health Association (APHA) released a joint analysis on how Donald Trump and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s cuts to vital health programs and attacks on vaccines have disproportionately undermined the health of people of color. [PDF Version]
The review, first reported by The Root, comes as the CDC now reports over 1,360 confirmed measles cases and 14 new outbreaks in 2026, a dangerous situation for Black and AIAN children that “remain least likely to have received recommended childhood vaccinations and the MMR vaccine specifically.” The spread of the disease so far in 2026 is on track to eclipse last year’s total, which was the highest since 1991.
“Trump’s health secretary RFK Jr. is making communities of color sicker by putting up even more barriers to access safe and effective vaccines while destroying health programs designed to fix health disparities,” said Kayla Hancock, Director of Protect Our Care’s Public Health Project. “Kennedy has abused his celebrity status and influence to baselessly stoke anti-vax fear and drive down vaccination rates even further, leaving already underserved communities even less prepared to deal with the massive uptick in preventable diseases like measles, flu and hepatitis B. RFK Jr. has put his widely discredited belief that Black people should have less protection from preventable disease into dangerous practice, and it’s costing a lot of people dearly in medical bills and their health.”
“With an implicit and explicit bias against vaccines and complete disregard for science, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s impact on our nation’s health has been devastating since being sworn is as Secretary of Health and Human Services,” said APHA CEO Georges C. Benjamin, MD. “His misinformation and poorly conceived actions have created chaos, confusion and mistrust, which disproportionately harms the health of people of color and other underserved communities.”
- Targeted Black Professionals Working on Immunization and Health Campaigns at HHS. When RFK Jr. suddenly fired 10,000 HHS employees, he was not doing so in a colorblind manner. While Black people make up nearly 14 percent of the U.S. population, around 20 percent of people who work at HHS are Black, and they were disproportionately at risk of losing their jobs last year.
- Supported Different Vaccine Schedules for Different “Races.” RFK Jr.’s history of undermining trust in vaccines includes statements claiming Black people should be given fewer vaccinations than white people, highlighting his eugenics-inspired mythology of race as a biological reality, and promoting a policy which would decrease already low Black vaccination rates. When confronted about these statements at his own confirmation hearing he defended them.
- The Number of Children Receiving Proper Vaccinations Has Declined. Asian American children have seen the sharpest decline recently, with a 7 percent drop. Black and American Indian/Alaskan Native children also still fall below the MMR vaccination goal of 90 percent by 2030. Thanks to RFK Jr.’s ACIP panel recommendations, fewer vaccines, like those for MMR and measles, may be available for low income children, who disproportionately are people of color, in the future.
- Millions Have Been Stripped Away from AI/AN Communities’ Immunization and Health Programs. RFK Jr.’s massive cuts to HHS programs have disproportionately targeted AI/AN communities, with over $6 million in grants slashed in just the last year. These grants were filling in the gaps for vaccination and other health programs as AI/AN are less likely to have access to hospital services or even a local doctor.
- Funding and Policy Shifts Have Led to 750,000 Excess Deaths Worldwide. These staggering numbers reflect the interrupted immunization campaigns, delayed HIV and tuberculosis treatment initiation, weakened malaria control programs, and disruptions to maternal and child health services, all coming under the leadership of Donald Trump and RFK Jr. Around 500,000 of these excess deaths are children.
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