The letter raised concerns that RFK Jr will dismantle health agencies and undermine America’s role in global healthcare. Credit: KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / Contributor / Getty images.

In an open letter, 77 Nobel laureates have 鈥渟trongly鈥� urged members of the US Senate to reject Donald Trump鈥檚 nomination of Robert F Kennedy (RFK) Jr for the role of Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS).

, obtained by the New York Times, states: 鈥淚n view of his record, placing Mr Kennedy in charge of the Department of Health and Human Services would put the public鈥檚 health in jeopardy and undermine America鈥檚 global leadership in the sciences, in both the public and commercial sectors.鈥�

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The signatories are all previous Nobel Prize winners for chemistry, economics, medicine or physics between the years of 1975 and 2024.

They draw attention to RFK Jr鈥檚 previous rhetoric about the agencies he will now lead, calling him 鈥渁 belligerent critic of respected agencies (especially the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health)鈥�.

As HSS secretary, RFK Jr would oversee all three of the agencies named in the letter. He has a history of being heavily critical of the FDA, telling followers on X in October that 鈥渋f you work for the FDA and are part of this corrupt system, I have two messages for you: 1. Preserve your records, and 2. Pack your bags.鈥�

There have been also suggestions that he could pursue a restructuring of other health agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

GlobalData pharmaceutical research analyst Cyrus Fan believes that such a move could impact health security in the US, eroding vaccine recommendations and cutting funding to public health.

Commenting on the potential impacts of RFK Jr鈥檚 nomination last month, Fan said: 鈥淕iven his anti-vaccine rhetoric and negative comments towards the FDA, it raises the questions for the future of US drug approvals and the FDA鈥檚 regulatory power.

鈥淚n addition, dismantling the CDC and other health agencies could jeopardize US public health and slow down all the work made during the Biden Administration. This includes addressing the opioid epidemic and the Cancer Moonshot programme.鈥�

Fan’s concerns about the potential appointment of RFK Jr echo those of the Nobel laureates in this week鈥檚 letter, which asserted that 鈥渢he leader of DHHS should continue to nurture and improve 鈥� not threaten 鈥� these important and highly respected institutions and their employees鈥�.

The letter signatories also take issue with RFK Jr鈥檚 historical stance on vaccinations, alongside his comments on water fluoridation, which he has called 鈥渁n industrial waste鈥�.

The letter adds: 鈥淚n addition to his lack of credentials or relevant experience in medicine, science, public health or administration, Mr Kennedy has been an opponent of many health-protecting and life-saving vaccines, such as those that prevent measles and polio; a critic of the well-established positive effects of fluoridation of drinking water; a promoter of conspiracy theories about remarkably successful treatments of AIDS and other diseases.鈥�

In a 2023 interview with Fox News, RFK Jr said: 鈥淚 think most of the things that people believe about my opinions about vaccines are wrong,鈥� although he also stated that 鈥淚 do believe that autism does come from vaccines鈥�.

Last week, Trump suggested on NBC that RFK Jr may review the debunked links between autism and vaccinations. He told Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker: 鈥淚f you go back 25 years ago, you had very little autism. Now you have it.鈥�