By Jerome Adams, Richard Carmona, Joycelyn Elders, Vivek Murthy, Antonia Novello and David Satcher

As former U.S. surgeons general appointed by every Republican and Democratic president since George H.W. Bush, we have collectively spent decades in service as the Nation’s Doctor. We took two sacred oaths in our lifetimes: first, as physicians who swore to care for our patients and, second, as public servants who committed to protecting the health of all Americans.

Today, in keeping with those oaths, we are compelled to speak with one voice to say that the actions of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are endangering the health of the nation. Never before have we issued a joint public warning like this. But the profound, immediate and unprecedented threat that Kennedy’s policies and positions pose to the nation’s health cannot be ignored.

...

Rather than combating the rapid spread of health misinformation with facts and clarity, Kennedy is amplifying it. The consequences aren’t abstract. They are measured in lives lost, disease outbreaks and an erosion of public trust that will take years to rebuild.

It is essential to note that good science and public health require not only evidence but also people — the scientists, public health professionals and civil servants whose expertise protects millions of Americans. Yet under Kennedy’s leadership, the HHS workforce has been badly damaged. He has silenced and sidelined hundreds of scientists, public health officials and medical professionals, creating an atmosphere of fear and distrust. Many of the nation’s top public health professionals — people we have worked with during crises — have resigned or retired early. They describe a culture of intimidation, where scientific findings are censored, evidence is disregarded and career officials are pressured to rubber stamp conclusions that are not backed by science.

This statement unabashedly calls out actual and historical ongoing harm by a top US Gov official. I can't recall it's like, from any time in my longish life.

    HHS requires steady, ethical leadership grounded in science.

    By contrast, [RF] Kennedy has spent decades advancing dangerous
    and discredited claims about vaccines — most notoriously,
    the thoroughly discredited theory that childhood vaccines
    cause autism. 

    He has promoted misinformation about the HPV vaccine,
    which protects against cervical cancer, and he has 
    repeatedly misrepresented the risks of mRNA technology
    and coronavirus vaccines, despite their lifesaving impact
    during the pandemic.

    This year, as the United States faced its worst measles
    outbreak in more than 30 years, Kennedy de-emphasized
    vaccination and directed agency resources toward unproven
    vitamin therapies. The result: months-long outbreak, three
    preventable deaths and the first measles-related child death
    in the U.S. in over two decades.

    Secretary Kennedy is entitled to his views. But he is not
    entitled to put people’s health at risk. He has rejected
    science, misled the public and compromised the health of
    Americans. 

    The nation deserves a health and human services secretary
    who is committed to scientific integrity and can restore
    morale and trust in our public health agencies.