Sanders Releases Emails Showing RFK Jr. Pushed CDC to Change Vaccine Rules

Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont released a large group of emails from inside the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Thursday. The emails suggest that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. put pressure on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, known as the CDC. The CDC is the government agency responsible for protecting the health of all Americans. Sanders says the emails show Kennedy tried to control what the CDC told the public about vaccines.

The emails show several serious actions that Kennedy allegedly took. According to the messages, Kennedy told the CDC's vaccine advisory panel to limit who could get vaccines. He also let researchers use private data to support the false claim that vaccines cause autism, a claim that has been proven wrong by scientists many times. Kennedy also changed the CDC's recommendations for COVID-19 vaccines without asking CDC experts first.

One email stands out as especially important. Kennedy's former chief of staff, Matthew Buckham, sent a message to former CDC Director Susan Monarez in August 2025. The email said there needed to be a 'political review' of big decisions at the CDC before they were put in place. This meant that political leaders, not just health experts, would have a say in CDC decisions. Less than a week after that email, Kennedy fired Monarez from her job.

Sanders said Kennedy fired Monarez 'for failing to rubber stamp recommendations' from the CDC's vaccine advisory panel. Sanders called her firing 'outrageous' and said she was let go because of 'her commitment to public health and vaccines.' He asked for a bipartisan investigation, meaning one where both Republicans and Democrats work together to look into the firing. Sanders also called on Kennedy to resign from his position.

The emails also show that Kennedy ordered the cancellation of flu vaccine advertising campaigns. A CDC worker emailed her boss saying that HHS Communications Director Andrew Nixon told her to 'pull out of circulation all campaign ad buys related to flu or anything encouraging shots or vaccinations.' The worker wrote that Nixon told her the order 'came directly from the Secretary.' This affected ads that were already paid for and running on social media, in magazines, and on bus stops.

A separate email from Nixon himself confirmed the order was 'a direct ask from Secretary Kennedy.' Sanders said that former CDC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Debra Houry gave the emails to his committee. The Hill, the news outlet that reported this story, reached out to HHS for a response but had not received one.

Sanders has a long history of criticizing Kennedy's views on vaccines. Before President Trump nominated Kennedy to lead HHS, Kennedy was well known as an anti-vaccine activist. Sanders has accused Kennedy of running a 'dangerous misinformation campaign' from inside the government. In a letter sent in April, Sanders wrote that Kennedy 'has continued his longstanding crusade against vaccines and his advocacy of conspiracy theories that vaccines cause autism — all of which have been repeatedly rejected by scientists.'