RFK Jr. will be the keynote speaker at the September 17 conference of the anti-vaccine group Children’s Health Defense (CHD); the opening reception will be held the previous night. Andrew Wakefield, whose license was revoked over his retracted, fraudulent study falsely linking the MMR vaccine to autism, will also speak at the event. A health panel had found that Wakefield mistreated vulnerable children and committed serious professional misconduct. The CHD website describes him as “a tireless advocate for parental choice.”
The program also includes Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.), Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), MAHA Institute President Mark Gorton, Epoch Times senior editor Jan Jekielek and CHD CEO Mary Holland. The $250 in-person tickets have sold out; limited auditorium passes are $125, while online access costs $100. Kennedy left CHD in early 2025 to become health secretary and said during his confirmation hearing that he was “pro-vaccine.” President Trump reportedly asked Kennedy to aggressively pursue the false claim that vaccines cause autism.
Why it matters
Kennedy’s appearance on the program of CHD, which he left before becoming health secretary, once again highlights the discrepancy between his pro-vaccine statement at his confirmation hearing and his anti-vaccine past. Wakefield’s inclusion in the program shows that the false link he drew between the MMR vaccine and autism continues to be defended in CHD circles, even though it was based on a retracted and fraudulent study. The presence of senators, media representatives and CHD executives on the same program reveals that the vaccine debate extends beyond health into political and media circles. Paid in-person and online access options show that these views are being presented through different participation channels. The question that remains is how Kennedy reconciles his role as health secretary with his relationship with CHD and the other figures at the conference.
Background
RFK is not a new name in the FikirPilot archive: over the past 90 days, we published one news story mentioning this name; that article was dated September 5, 2026.