RFK Jr. Renews Attack on Aluminum in Vaccines, Igniting Fresh Public Health Controversy
RFK Jr. claims aluminum in vaccines may cause food allergies, despite scientific agencies citing no proof.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr escalated his ongoing scrutiny of aluminium adjuvants in vaccines during a food allergy conference on November 17, 2025, suggesting a potential link between the compounds—used to boost immune responses in shots for diseases like polio, hepatitis, and HPV—and the dramatic rise in childhood food allergies over the past three decades. Speaking to an audience focused on allergy research, Kennedy admitted there is "no science" currently supporting the connection but argued that the timeline of increased vaccine aluminium exposure "fits perfectly" with allergy prevalence spiking from less than 4% in the 1990s to over 10% today among U.S. children. He called for federal agencies to prioritise studies on the issue while also speculating on other culprits like pesticides and ultra-processed foods, without citing evidence for any.
The remarks align with Kennedy's broader anti-vaccine adjuvant crusade, which has intensified since his appointment in the Trump administration. In September 2025, President Donald Trump publicly advocated removing aluminium from vaccines, prompting backlash from public health experts who emphasised its decades-long safety record. A month later, the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunisation Practices (ACIP) flagged aluminium for potential review in a draft document, noting a 2022 observational study hinting at an asthma risk association—though a larger 2023 Danish cohort analysis involving over 800,000 children found no such link. Kennedy demanded the retraction of the Danish study from the Annals of Internal Medicine, but editors upheld its validity, calling it robust and methodologically sound.
Aluminium salts, present in vaccines from manufacturers like GSK, Merck, Pfizer, and Sanofi, have been a staple since the 1930s, with the CDC affirming their safety based on extensive monitoring showing no widespread adverse effects beyond minor injection-site reactions. The total aluminium dose from a full childhood vaccine schedule—about 4.4 mg—pales compared to daily dietary intake from food and water (7-9 mg for adults) and is far less than from antacids or buffered aspirin. Kennedy's deputies, including NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, and ARPA-H Director Alicia Jackson, joined him at the conference, signalling a coordinated push for research into environmental and immunological triggers of allergies, which affect 32 million U.S. children and cost the economy $25 billion annually in medical care and lost productivity.
Kennedy's history of linking aluminium to a spectrum of conditions—from autism and Alzheimer's to depression and now allergies—stems from his environmental activism roots, amplified through his Children's Health Defence nonprofit, which has long questioned vaccine safety. Critics, including the American Academy of Paediatrics and Allergy & Asthma Network, warn that such unsubstantiated claims erode trust in immunisation programmes, potentially fuelling hesitancy amid ongoing measles outbreaks. The ACIP's December agenda includes adjuvants and contaminants, but experts like Dr Paul Offit of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia stress that correlation does not imply causation, urging evidence-based inquiry over alarmism.
As the administration's review looms, the debate highlights tensions between precautionary science and regulatory stability, with Kennedy positioning it as a quest for "truth" in chronic disease epidemics. While food allergies' exact aetiology remains multifactorial—involving genetics, gut microbiome shifts, and the hygiene hypothesis—vaccine aluminium's role lacks empirical backing, per reviews from the World Health Organization and the Institute of Medicine. For families navigating EpiPens and elimination diets, Kennedy's spotlight offers hope for answers but risks amplifying misinformation in a field desperate for breakthroughs.
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